Dead Decisions
by JJ Louise
Summary: Sookie hasn't seen Eric since he left her home at the end of DITF.  She decides to do something about her life, and with her relationship with Eric.  Spoilers through DITF.  Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

All characters and whatnot belong to the awesome Charlaine Harris. I had some crazy inspiration one day, and this is what resulted.

It had been almost two weeks since I had seen or spoken with Eric, and I missed him terribly. Two weeks ago, there had been a fight in my front lawn, and one of the casualties was Eric's maker, Appius Livius Ocella. I wasn't the one who killed him, though I had thought about it just before the deed was done by a fairy. At first, Eric has seemed upset with me, but before he left me that night, things seemed alright between us. He had told me that there were things he needed to shore up, but as soon as he could, he would be with me again, and we would make up for the time we had lost.

The night after the fight, I had called to check on Pam, since she had been injured where the incident initially began, at Eric's house, and made sure that she was healing well. She had told me that Eric was in a meeting, but that she would tell him that I had called. A few more days went by, and still no word. I tried to call a few times, and even headed over to his house, but seemed to miss him each time. It was almost as if he was avoiding me.

At first, I could feel him through our blood bond. It was very strained, but I could still feel a hint of him in my mind. At night I could feel his anger and rage. I wished I knew what was upsetting him so much, and I could only hope that it wasn't me.

On this particular night, exactly two weeks from the last time I had seen or spoken with Eric, I finished my shift at Merlottes, and headed home. I made myself some tea, which, thanks to Amelia, had grown on me, and headed out to my front porch to enjoy the night air, and try to figure out what to do about Eric and me.

I had finally come to the following conclusion: I was going to break the blood bond. I needed to do it for a few reasons. First, I needed to know for sure that what I felt for Eric was one hundred percent for real. That there was no possibility that the blood bond was influencing it. I also wanted to try to give us a fresh start. We seemed almost to be forced back into the relationship that we were in now. Not that I minded where we were, but there was nothing really natural about it. I couldn't help it if I wanted to at least try for a little normalcy in my otherwise very un-normal existence.

There was only one person who I could think of to help me with my plan. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?", she said, groggy.

"Amelia, it's Sookie. Listen, I know it's late, but I need your help."

"Sure Sookie, anything. Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be. Remember how you told me you and Octavia could remove the blood bond from Eric and I? Well, I think it's about time that we took a look into that."

There was a pause, I could feel her wanting to question me on what changed over the last 10 hours, since I had spoken with her earlier in the day, and poured my heart out to her about how things hadn't changed on the Eric front, and how sad it made me to think that, even though nothing but trouble happens when I'm around him, I think I was actually going to miss him if we weren't the same as we had been before.

I would miss our… friendship. Yep, that's right, Eric was, above all things, one of the best friends I have ever had. Since I had none of my usual vampire distractions over the last two weeks, and nothing but time to thing about everything, I had realized that Eric, Eric Northman, sheriff of Area 5, was one of my best friends if nothing else. When I really took a look at it, he had never lied to me, he was willing to do anything for me, he listened to me when I needed someone to talk to even if he wasn't interested in the subject, and I trusted him, with my life. If everything else failed, I hoped that I would still at least be able to call him my friend.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do Sookie?"

"Positive."

"Give me a day to get what we will need together, and then head out here?"

"Sounds fine. I'm working tomorrow, but I have the next two days after that off. Should I just head over there when I get off work tomorrow?"

"That works, see you then. Good night Sookie."

"Thanks Amelia, good night."

I tried to call Eric one last time before I went back into my house, but there was no answer. I sent him my usual nightly text message, "Miss you. Call me?", but as usual, got no response. I cleaned up a bit in the kitchen, grabbed a quick snack, and headed off to bed. The sooner tomorrow came, the better.


	2. Chapter 2

The next afternoon, work could not have gone by any slower. It was as if Father Time knew that I was excited to do something in God knows how long, and decided to put his foot on the clock. To make it worse, it was a slow afternoon. I was standing behind the bar, fidgeting, when Sam came up behind me.

"Sookie, how you doing today?" I about jumped out of my skin, and let out a little scream. I had been so preoccupied about leaving and heading out to Amelia's, and formulating a plan for when I returned, that I didn't hear him come up behind me.

"Sam! Oh my goodness, you scared me." I said, gave him a playful nudge with me shoulder. He nudged me back, and shot me that killer smile of his. "I'm fine actually.", I finally said.

"Yeah? I'm glad to hear that Sook. I don't think I could have taken you working through your shift today like a zombie again."

"Oh I haven't been that bad! You have definitely seen me worse."

"I don't know, there was something different about this time. You've been quite a mess Sook. And I know what is going on with you and Eric is none of my business…"

I stopped him right there, "You're right, it's none of your business."

He decided not to keep this going, and changed the subject. "You have any plans for your days off this week?"

"Actually, I do. I'm headed down to New Orleans to see Amelia."

"Well that sounds just fine." he said, and shot me that killer smile again. Sam seemed to be pleased that I was getting out of the house, and getting out of my downer of a mood. Did I mention that I had been a wreck to work with? I knew it, and I tried not to be, but each day that passed soured my mood a little more, because it meant that another night of not speaking with or seeing Eric had passed. That was another thing. I wasn't quite sure how much of this missing him was actually me, or what was left of the blood bond pulling at me to be near him.

We chatted a little more about local happenings, and about my trip, minus the blood bond breaking details. My shift ended, and I headed home as quickly as I could. The sooner I got to Amelia's, the sooner we could get started, and the sooner I could get rid of this blood bond. This was the happiest I had been this entire week, until I got to my front door.

There was a letter sticking out of the screen door. It was plain white, and was sealed with one of those fancy wax stamps. The front of the envelope simply read "Sookie", and I could tell the handwriting was Pams.

I was scared to open it. I was worried about what it said, and I decided that I didn't want to know until I had gotten to Amelia's, just in case it was bad news. I tossed the letter down on the counter in my kitchen, and proceeded into my bedroom to grab the bag I had packed for myself this morning before work. I called Amelia to let her know I was leaving, and should be at her place shortly after midnight based on the directions I got from mapquest. I took one last round of the house, and just as I was about to walk out the front door, I realized that I had forgotten the letter and I ran back into the kitchen to grab it.


	3. Chapter 3

The awesome Charlaine Harris owns the characters. I'm just taking them out for a spin.

Please don't sue.

* * *

As planned, I arrived at Amelia's shortly after midnight. She came out to greet me, and gave me long hug. It hadn't been that long since we had seen each other, but we sure did miss each other. I really did wish that she would come back to stay with me, but I understood why she couldn't.

She took me inside, and we got caught up on all the going's-on's. I told her about the letter that I had found in my screen door today, and that I hadn't read it. If Amelia had been a cat, (sorry Bob) she would have died from curiosity at an early age.

"OPEN THE LETTER SOOKIE! Don't you want to know what it says before you go through with breaking the blood bond?"

"Fine, fine, I'll open it, but let me read it in private first." Amelia wasn't known for her tact, but right now, I didn't need to say anything other than that, and she left the guest room we had been chatting in.

_Sookie,_

_I cannot take Eric a moment longer. Please come to Fangtasia tonight. He will be there, enthralling the humans. He wont be able to hide if you just show up. I can see that he misses you, and I don't know why he is avoiding you. This is bad for business. And it's possible that I miss you as well. See you tonight._

_Pam_

Eric missed me. Pam had taken a great risk in writing me that letter. For one, she was probably going against his wish of having me contacted. Two, she outed Eric's feelings. It made me chuckle a little, because I knew that Eric and I would be alright.

I walked out of the room, and handed the letter to Amelia.

"Sounds like Eric's pretty miserable without you Sook."

"Yeah, you catch that too?" I said, and we both giggled. "I'm gonna head off to bed, I'm exhausted. Good night Amelia."

"Night Sook." she replied, and with that I headed back to my guest room, changed into my pajamas, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I awoke to a sickening smell, and a lot of chatter coming from Amelia's kitchen. I scooted myself out of bed to see what was going on, and made a quick pit stop in the bathroom across the hall from the guest room Amelia had me staying in. I stood there looking at myself in the mirror… and I felt like I could recognize myself again. I had pretty much gotten myself back together since my kidnapping and torture round with Evil 1 and Evil 2, otherwise know as my fairy captors Lochlan and his sister Neave, but I had not felt a hundred percent like ME, and I didn't feel like I looked a hundred percent like ME when I saw myself in the mirror. Today however, with my new resolve to get my life in order, and follow through on what I felt would be a life changing decision, I felt like I was me, completely, once more.

I left the bathroom, and headed to the kitchen. Amelia and Octavia were there, both huddled over a large pot on the stove, which seemed to be the source of that horrendous smell.

"Morning Sookie!" exclaimed Octavia. She dropped her spoon and came over to give me a hug. I hadn't seen her since she had moved back to New Orleans a few months ago. While I was not happy about having Amelia move her in to my home originally, I was happy that she had in the end, and missed her when she left.

"Good morning Octavia. Thank you so much for helping with this, I really do appreciate you taking the time."

"Well it's the least that I can do, after what you did for me."

"Morning Amelia. What are you both up to this morning? Is that for me?" I asked as I headed over to the stove and took a peek at these witches brew.

Amelia didn't turn her head from the mixture she had going on her stove, "Morning Sook. Yep, this is for you. Should be ready for you this afternoon. By tonight, you will be a free woman."

I let out a deep sigh, and repeated the last part of her statement to myself, "A free woman."

"Well, not entirely free, you two are still married remember, vampire knife style.", and she shot me a wicked smile. She new just how to kill my good mood sometimes.

"I don't even know where to get started on getting that annulled."

"Aren't annulments only valid if you haven't consummated the marriage?", Amelia said, as she glanced over at me and winked.

I had been pouring myself a cup of coffee, and her comment made me jump and spill some on the counter. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped it up, and could only think to roll my eyes at her since I hadn't actually had any coffee yet.

I sat at the kitchen table, and after a few sips, was starting to really wake up.

"So what exactly is going to happen? How do we break the bond?" I asked Amelia and Octavia, who were still huddled over their work at the stove.

Amelia put the book down she was reading out of, which I could only assume contained the directions for this project, and came to sit with me at the kitchen table. "Well, it's actually not very hard at all. We are making you a potion right now that you need to drink, and we basically will just need a picture of Eric to burn afterwards. You did bring a picture right?"

"Yep. You're sure though that it doesn't have to be like a picture picture, like, of him and I, right? The only picture that I have of him is from the calendar that Fangtasia put out last year."

Eric had been Mr. January, and oh, what a Mr. January he was. I'm glad that I had an extra copy of that calendar, otherwise I would have done anything to get another picture of him, cause there was no way I was parting with his picture from that calendar and not left with one.

Amelia frowned, "It's a real shame to burn that picture you know. One less copy of it in the world is one copy to many."

I shot her a look of sorrow myself, and after a moment, we both giggled over the silliness of it all.

Amelia went back to work at the stove with Octavia, and I went back to my room. I decided that it was about time to get dressed, and threw on some jeans and a pale blue blouse. I went back to the bathroom, and tied my hair back in my usual ponytail. Afterwards I headed back to the kitchen, and let Amelia and Octavia know I was going to head out, and would be back in time for our little "ceremony".

The last time I was in New Orleans, I really hadn't gotten a chance to see any of it, as I spent the majority of my time either packing my cousin Hadley's apartment, working with the former Queen, Sophie-Ann, being kidnapped with Quinn, or ending up in the hospital from a baby vamp attack.

That last thought, about the hospital, brought back a very painful memory. It was then that I found out that Bill, my first boyfriend, had deceived me into falling in love with him, simply so that the Queen could get at my gift. This then reminded me that Eric had forced Bill to confess this information to me. Which made me remember the look of sorrow that Eric had had on his face while Bill spilled the beans to me, and the way he touched my leg as he was leaving my hospital room, apologizing for having to have me suffer. At that time, we had not had the blood bond yet, and it gave me some hope that my little plan might turn out okay. This brought me out of the little funk I had put myself in, and I started to pay attention to where I was now. I had walked out onto Bourbon St.

I spent about two hours walking up and down the streets of the city, did some window shopping, but didn't end up actually purchasing anything for myself. I finally got bored wandering the streets by myself, and decided to head back to Amelia's place, since it was probably about time anyways to get started on our little endeavor. It didn't take me to long to get my bearings and get back to Amelia's. When I walked in, Amelia and Octavia were in the kitchen enjoying a late lunch. I realized once I walked in the door that I had not had breakfast or lunch, and my stomach let me know it. They were having a salad that Octavia had brought over, some fancy kind with the different kinds of baby greens, candied walnuts, chicken, and a raspberry vinaigrette. They offered me a plate, and I sat at the kitchen table with them. I told them about my days window shopping adventure, if you could call it that, and told them if we had the chance tomorrow, I would really like to get a tour of the city from them if it was possible. There seemed to be so much to see and do, and in case the spell didn't work, I didn't want my little vacation to be a total waste.

Once lunch was complete, they confirmed what I had suspected, and let me know they were ready to get started with my part in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

As always, Charlaine Harris owns the characters.

I'm still poor. Please don't sue.

* * *

I ran back to my guest room, and grabbed the picture of Eric that I had torn out of the Fangtasia calendar, and met back up with the girls in the living room. Amelia and Octavia let me onto the patio of the apartment, where they had set up a little staging area for us. There was a circle of salt on the ground that was about 8 feet in diameter, with a small metal dish in the middle, and the potion pot that they had previously been slaving over in the kitchen.

"Now Sookie,", said Amelia "like I said, this was way easier than either of us thought. Basically, Octavia and I are going to recite some passages, and all we will really need you to do is light the picture of Eric on fire, place it in the bowl, and then drink a cup of the mixture we made. Just be sure not to leave the circle until we tell you it's okay. That should basically break the bond."

I shook my head that I understood, and we stepped into the circle. "How will I know the bond is broken?", I asked once we were in place.

"Well, I think you will feel it, wont you? I mean, you share that bond already as far as feeling each others moods and stuff right? I imagine you just wont feel that anymore.", said Amelia, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess that's right, but I wont know for sure then until the sun goes down, and Eric wakes up. I usually don't feel anything from him when he's sleeping unless it's an intense dream. We might have to wait for tonight when he wakes and I can see if I still feel him in my head."

Amelia shook her head, "Well, guess we will know for sure at sundown then."

They both stood at opposite sides of the circle, and had me stand in the middle by the bowl and pot of potion they had concocted. Octavia told me she would let me know once their part was over, and that when it was, I needed to make sure I filled the glass they had brought out from the kitchen as full as I could, and drink it as quickly as I could.

They started their chant, which seemed to be in an older language, like Eric's, that wasn't used anymore. This went on for about 5 minutes, and once they were done, Octavia made sure to nod her head to let me know that was it, since I had no clue what either of them were saying.

I took Eric's picture from the back pocket of my jeans along with the lighter that Amelia had provided to me. I lit a corner of the picture, and knelt down to drop it in the little metal bowl. Once I made sure it was good and burning, I picked up the glass and filled it with the potion. It brought it up to my lips, and Good Lord, did it stink. I plugged my nose, and down the hatch it went. It still tasted horrible, but I made sure to drink every single last drop in that glass. I needed this to work, the first time. For one, I didn't have another picture of Eric with me to burn, and two, I did NOT want to drink that vile mixture again.

Once I was finished, I set the glass back down on the ground, and watched the last of the picture smolder and turn to ash.

"Well, that's it Sook.", Amelia said, and we both sighed.


	5. Chapter 5

I own nothing. All characters are property of the awesome Charlaine Harris.

I'm poor. Please don't sue.

* * *

It was getting close to sundown. I had helped Amelia and Octavia clean up the patio once we were finished with our task, and Octavia left to go back home. Amelia had been awake and preparing for the spell since around 4 a.m., and was exhausted, so she turned in for a nap. I didn't know what to do with myself at this point, and didn't want to wake Amelia with my pacing, so I decided to go sit out on the porch and watch the sun set, waiting to see if out little adventure worked.

It had been a long day, and Amelia's patio furniture was comfy, and before I knew it, although I would have not thought it possible, I fell asleep.

I awoke to find Amelia standing over me, nudging my shoulder. "Sookie. Sookie, wake up."

"What time is it?", I asked as I rubbed my eyes and took a look around. The sun had set, and the moon and stars were out. I was guessing it was pretty late at this point.

"It's almost midnight Sookie, have you been out here sleeping this whole time?"

"Almost, last thing I remember, I was waiting for the sun to set, it was about five-thirty. I can't believe I was even able to fall asleep, I've been so anxious since we finished the spell earlier."

"Well, that probably was the potion. There were a few items in there that naturally cause drowsiness, but I didn't know it would have knocked you out like this, or I would have given you the heads up. Sorry. Anyway, I woke up and heard your cell phone beeping. Looks like you have a LOT of messages."

Amelia handed me my cell phone, and I flipped it open. "Wow, 8 missed calls, 4 new voicemails, and 10 text messages. Amelia, they are ALL from Eric."

"What does he want? I wonder if this means it worked, if he felt what was left of the bond break."

As she was talking, I started to go though the text messages. The first, sent just after what would have been sundown, read, "Sookie, are you okay?". After that, "Sookie, I have called, and you are not answering, where are you?". Next, "Has someone hurt you? I don't know what's happening, and I can't reach you, please call me or text me and let me know you are at least okay, even if you don't want to speak with me. Please do at least that for me." Then, the messages took a different tone, "If you have Sookie, know that I will find you, and if you have harmed her in any way, I will destroy you." They basically went on like this until the last one, "Sookie, if you see this, please, answer me back in some way. I'm not sure what is going on, but I don't feel you anymore, and I'm very worried. If you do not wish to contact me, please contact Pam and let her know you are well."

I read some of the messages to Amelia, so that she got the general idea of what Eric was sending me.

"I wonder what the voicemails say.", she said, and I started to check those. I found that they all basically had the same tone as the text messages. The first two were from Eric, asking me to call him, the third was Eric threatening whomever had taken me if that had been the case, and the last was another plea from Eric to give him some sign that I was alright.

"Well, sounds like the spell worked Sook. How do you feel?"

I sat for a moment to contemplate that. I felt, well, I felt just fine. I could tell something was different, but not in a bad way really. I felt like a part of me was missing, which I just chalked up to not having that little piece of Eric's emotions fluttering around in my brain. But really, for the most part, I didn't feel any different. If anything, now knowing the blood bond was broken, I felt free.

"I feel fine blood bond break wise, but I need to call Eric and let him know I'm alright. I actually feel kinda bad for letting him worry like that. But I didn't want to let him know what I was doing before hand."

Amelia took my silent queue, and went back into the apartment. I flipped my phone back open, took a deep breath, and called Eric. He answered on the first ring.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, it's me, I'm fine."

I could practically hear every muscle in his body relax at that point over the phone, although, I could also tell from the prolonged silence I was now receiving from him, that he was doing everything he could to not yell at me.

"Sookie," he started out calmly, "why did you not respond to any of my messages? Could you not tell that I was worried about you? I awoke this evening, and couldn't feel you anymore, I thought," and he paused here, and left me with another prolonged silence. It took everything in me not to snap at him then and badger him about all the messages that I had left him in the last two weeks that he never responded too. "Sookie, I thought you were dead." he finally finished. Well, sounds like the bond's broken.

"Eric, I'm fine. I'm sorry I didn't answer, I was sleeping. I came out to visit Amelia last night, and we had quite a busy day, I was just so exhausted I guess, I fell asleep."

There was another long silence before he spoke again. "When will you be back? We need to speak, in person." Sure, now he wants to talk to me. Why was I feeling so sour all of the sudden? All's that I had wanted these last two weeks was to hear his voice at the very least, and now I was, and I couldn't help but feel angry with him. I wondered if that was because there was no more bond.

"I agree. I will be back tomorrow night, around two in the morning."

"Can you meet me at my home? It will be best to speak there.", he asked, this time, speaking with a gentle tone. He seemed to have calmed down, not that I would know for sure since the blood bond was broken.

"Actually Eric, could you meet me at my house? I feel more comfortable speaking there. Claude left, he's not staying with me anymore, so it will be just you and me."

"Fine, I will be waiting for you when you get home." Another long pause. "I've missed you Sookie."

Oh brother, I did not want to have this conversation now, I needed to end this call, and quick. "I've missed you to Eric," not that you didn't already know that by my nightly calls and text messages, "but the rest of this will have to wait until tomorrow night. I will see you then.", and I hung up the phone, not giving him the chance to respond or fight me on that decision.

I closed my phone, and went back into the apartment. Amelia was waiting for me on the couch, and she patted the cushion next to her, and I plopped down beside her.

"Amelia, I really do think it worked. He thought that I was dead. He wants to speak with me when I get back tomorrow night. He's going to meet me at my place."

"Are you going to be ready for that phase of your little operation?", she asked, and patted my knee.

"Well, I'm gonna have to be I guess." , and I squeezed Amelia's hand on my knee.

We stayed up a little later, and talked about some of the things I was going to say. Some of it was private, between me and Eric, but some of it I didn't mind sharing. We turned in shortly before two in the morning, and I found that it wasn't to hard to fall back asleep. Damn potion.


	6. Chapters 6, 7, and 8

I think this will be it for tonight. Should have more tomorrow.

Thanks to those who read it so far and decided that they liked it enough to come back. :D

This started out as just something I had an idea for from a conversation with my bestie, and then kinda turned into a monster. Now, it's a Christmas present for him as soon as I finish it.

Again, I own nothing. Charlaine Harris is awesome.

I'm still poor. Please don't sue.

* * *

The next morning, Amelia and I were both up early. She offered to take me around the city before I left today, so after a cup of coffee, a shower, and a change of clothes, we left.

She took me around Bourbon Street again, and although I had been here the day before, this time was more fun with a guide. She told me about how the city changes for Mardi Gras, and some local history. We did some window shopping, and for Amelia, some actual shopping. After that, we stopped at a little bar that Amelia said was pretty good, to grab some lunch.

"So how are you feeling about going back tonight, are you getting nervous?"

"Not entirely nervous. I know what I want to say, and I just hope that once he knows the blood bond is gone, he will still be willing to listen." I had a mental image of me telling Eric what I had done, and him storming out of my house without giving me a chance to explain anything else. Maybe I should move that part of our conversation towards the end, so I get a chance to say the other things that I wanted to say.

We talked a little more about my trip home, before we headed back out into the city.

It was about 5 in the afternoon when we finally got back to Amelia's. I decided, since I had a long drive ahead of me, it would be best to take a nap before I hit the road. I did my packing, and double checked the bathroom to make sure I didn't forget anything. I laid down in the bed, and my mind began racing. What if Eric decided that he didn't want anything to do with me now that the bond was broken? Could he void our "marriage" without my say? Would he even give me a chance to talk? What if he wanted to talk because, regardless of our bond, he just didn't want to see me anymore, after what happened with his maker, and my role that night?

I tossed and turned for the next 3 hours, and I ended up hardly sleeping at all. My cell phone alarm buzzed when it was time for me to get up, and I headed, bag in hand, to the living room to say goodbye to Amelia.

We gave each other a big hug when I got to my car, and I promised to call her and let her know how things went, at least with the blood bond part. She was curious to know what happened on Eric's side of the break.

My drive home was no better than my "nap". I had to keep reminding myself to focus on the road. I tried blasting the radio in my car, but I found that I was just working extra hard to block out the music so that I could hear myself think. This was going to be a long and horrible trip back home.

* * *

_**CHAPTER SEVEN**_

I turned down my gravel driveway, and when my headlights shone over my home, I saw him, Eric, sitting on the front steps to my house. He appeared to be in, what I referred to as, down time. I parked my car, and sat in it for a moment before I opened the door, and watched Eric for signs that he had come out of his downtime. He looked up at my car after a moment, without a smile, and got up, and took a few steps towards my car.

I stepped out of my car, and resisted EVERY urge that I had to run over and hug and kiss him, and tell him how sorry I was, for everything, anything, just as long as we could be together and happy again. I took a few steps towards Eric. We were still about 8 feet away from each other, but now neither of us was moving. We both just stood there and stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was really only about 3 minutes, Eric took the first step, and then another, and another, and was finally standing in front of me, so close, that I had to now look up to see his face. He was staring down at me, still without a hint of emotion on his face, directly into my eyes, and I was staring right back up at his, except I could tell that my face was flushed, and about as red as a tomato.

"Lover." was all he said, and he leaned down to kiss me, and I ducked out of the way, and took a step back. This threw Eric off guard for a moment, but for a vampire, a moment isn't very long. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me right up to him, and leaned down for another kiss, this time, catching my chin with his other hand, so that I had no choice but to accept his greeting. Eric lingered at my lips for a moment, before trading my wrist for my hand, and leading me back to my house. He led me up the porch first, and I opened my front door for us. I had just finished opening the door when he struck, and to be honest, now that I knew what kind of a mood he was in from the kiss, I was surprised it took him this long. He swooped me up in his arms like a child, and headed for the bedroom.

He laid me on the bed as gentle as possible, and stood looking down at me for a moment before he decided that I needed to be more.. naked. He took off my shoes and socks first, and then went for my jeans.

"Hold on a second, what do you think you're doing? I thought we were going to talk." I said as I scooted up in the bed, resting my back against the pillows and crossing my legs.

"I know, I was merely trying to make you comfortable Lover. You had a long drive did you not? Would you like to change into your night clothes before we 'talk'?" Eric had that "I'm going to ravage you" look in his eye, and if we were going to talk, I figured I needed to keep as much clothing on as possible. I also was a bit confused by his actions. He spent two weeks avoiding me, and now has seen me for all of five minutes, and is ready to jump me like nothing had happened. I was utterly confused.

"I'm fine like this. Why don't you come and sit?" and I patted the bed next to me, still staying curled up in my seated position to make sure I gave no sign of wanting to have sex with him, even though that's all I could think about now that I had him in my room. Hey, I'm only human. Human with a giant Viking love GOD in bed with me.

Eric moved around the edge of the bed, took off his shoes, shirt, and pants (figures), so that he was in nothing but his boxers, and climbed into my bed, only he decided he was more comfortable laying down.

We were both silent again for a while, before I finally got a leg cramp from my awkward position, and decided to un-curl, and lean over my pillows to look down at him. He rolled on his side to face me, and thank God, decided he would start our conversation.

"I'm sorry Lover. I… I got your messages. I just needed some time to work through a few things. They have been worked through now. Perhaps I should have responded…" he said, and then either said the rest in his mind, or couldn't figure out where he wanted to go with that sentence.

"I really wish you would have responded Eric. I would tell you that I missed you to, but well, I'm sure you already know that." I said, and heard my voice going from neutral to a little irritated. "I know you said that you needed to shore up some things with Ocellas death, and make sure Pam was going to be alright, but really, you couldn't have at least said something to me? Answered at least one call or text message that I sent you?" I started to tear up from frustration. Eric grabbed my waist and pulled me down to him, so that I could rest my head on his chest, and he put his arm around me. He put a finger on my cheek to wipe away a tear, and hugged me to him. God it felt nice to be in his arms again… Sookie, focus!

I calmed myself down, and started in on the little half speech that I had been preparing over the last two days.

"Eric, I have some stuff that I want to say to you, and I don't want you to respond until I'm done. Understand?" He acknowledged me by kissing my forehead, and asking me to continue.

"Eric, I went to Amelia's so that she could help me. I wanted her to break our blood bond." When I finished that sentence, I could see the proverbial light bulb go on in his head, and last night now seemed to make sense to him.

"As you could probably tell now, she was successful. I didn't have her do it because I don't want to be with you anymore, I had her do it because I do want to be with you, but I need to make sure that I want to be with you because of MY feelings, of our feelings, and not because of the blood bond. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything to you about it before I left, and I didn't mean for it to worry you last night, but you must see why I needed to do this without telling you."

He wasn't moving again, but he still had me hugged to his chest, which I was going to take as a good sign.

I continued. "I know we can't just pretend to start fresh because so much has happened between us, but I do want to at least try to start us over in some way." I started to cry again, except this time, he didn't try to comfort me. I pulled it together just enough to say my last bit.

"I understand if you are mad at me, and I understand if you think I'm crazy, and I will understand if you don't want to see me anymore. I just want to make sure you know that it's okay and I understand if you decide any of those things."

He laid there, still keeping me hugged to his chest, but not moving, and not saying anything. Finally, after a few minutes of neither of us speaking, and him not responding, leaned away from his chest to look up at his face. He raised his hand to his eyes, but I could tell from the red streak on his cheek, he had been crying at some point during my speech.

"Sookie" he began, and then fell silent for another moment. "I thought you had died last night. I cannot describe to you the feeling I had when I awoke. It felt like you had been ripped from my chest, and then, I felt nothing of you at all. As for the rest of what you had to say, I'm not sure how I want to respond to that." He looked down at me then, and I cuddled myself up next to him as closely as I could get. He tightened his grip around me again, and we just laid there in silence.

I hadn't even realized that I had fallen asleep, but I awoke with Eric getting out of my bed.

"Are you leaving?" I whispered to him.

He looked down at me, still no smile from him, but how could I expect one now?

"I must, it's going to be dawn soon, and I need to get home."

I was tempted to ask if he wanted to stay with me a little longer, and just use the hidey-hole Bill had built in the spare bedroom, but who wants to stay the nigh (or day) with the person who just basically broke their heart? Well, at least, that's the only analogy I could come up with to describe how last night went. His reaction to me breaking the bond seemed like he thought that I was trying to end things with him. It was almost as if he didn't pay attention to anything I had said aside from us having no more blood bond.

"I understand, I didn't realize it was getting close to dawn." I decided to walk him out at least, hoping that in those few extra moments with him, he might change his mind, and decide to give us a try post blood bond. He hadn't responded to anything I said last night, other than acknowledging that the blood bond was indeed broken. It was killing me, and I didn't know how I would get through the day at work with this on my mind.

I followed Eric out to my living room, and to the front door. He stepped outside, and turned around but didn't say anything. Again, another silence from both of us, and we just stared each other down. I broke first, and looked away, as tears filled my eyes. At first, he didn't do anything, he just watched as a tear rolled down my cheek, and as the next one began to fall, he leaned in, and kissed me where it started to fall on my cheek, and then he was gone.

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CHAPTER EIGHT**_

I woke up again around noon. After Eric left, I had gone back to my bed, curled up where he had been laying, and cried silently to myself before I feel asleep again out of pure exhaustion. I didn't feel like getting out of bed. I didn't feel like going to work. I didn't feel like doing anything. If I learned anything last night, it was that I did care for Eric, without the blood bond. I wanted to be next to him just as much last night as I did when the bond had been in place. Even thought I was angry with him, I still wanted to be with him. But I wasn't sure if he felt the same way back. He almost seemed to be saying goodbye to me last night, and that thought made me tear up again.

NO! Sookie, you will NOT cry again. Maybe this was acceptable when you and Bill broke up after that whole Lorena thing, but not now. Not with Eric and not with everything we have been through. Besides, he didn't exactly tell you it was over, right? Maybe he was just hurt that I wanted to break the bond in the first place. Maybe he just needed more time.

I took a deep breath, rubbed my forehead, and got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Reluctantly, I took a look at myself in the mirror. Oh Lord, I looked terrible. I hopped in the shower, and got ready for the day. I had to go back to work, after all the time that I had missed, if I was physically able to go, I would.

"Sookie, what happened?" Sam said as he walked out of his office at Merlotte's. It was my break, and I was hiding out by the restrooms. It was the first time I had seen Sam today.

"I don't want to talk about it Sam." I said, and started to walk back to the bar. Sam grabbed my arm, and pulled me in for a hug.

"Whatever it is Sook, that's got you so down, I'm sorry. I'm here if you need me, you know that."

"I know Sam, thanks." I said, and gave him a little hug back to signal that I was ready to be let go from the vice grip he now had on me. I walked back to the bar, to finish my shift.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. It got a little busy, which I liked because it was making my shift go by faster, and before I knew it, I was off. I waived goodbye to Holly, and headed back to Sam's office to grab my purse. His door was open just a crack and I could hear him on the phone… WITH ERIC! I waited a moment to hear what he was saying, and to see if I could pick up on what Eric was saying back. I had a feeling I knew why Sam was calling, the last time I had been in a funk at work, Sam had called Eric to come down to soothe me or whatever Sam figured he could do to cheer me up.

"Listen, I'm sorry to bother you Eric, but something is wrong with Sookie. I was wondering if you could come check on her. She won't talk to me about it." There was a pause, and then Sam responded to whatever Eric had told him. "Well I know it's none of my business, but I just figured that it would be yours, since you two are together. Looks, she's about to get off work, are you coming down or not? Should I stall her?" Another pause, and then Sam responded, and didn't sound too happy, I had a feeling this was not going well. "Ok fine, never mind then, forget I called.", and he slammed the phone down. I walked into his office.

"Hey Sam, I'm leaving for the night. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he said, monotone. "Have a good night Sook. I hope whatever is bothering you turns out okay."

"Thanks Sam, good night." I grabbed my purse, and left his office. Well, he didn't try to stall me, so Eric must not be coming down here. Great, this just put me in more of a funk. I headed out to my car, determined not to let this get to me, I was NOT going to cry, nope, not again. I made it the whole day, well, most of the day, without crying. I was going to be strong, and I was going to fight for what I wanted.

I got home in usual time, and as I pulled up into the driveway, I could see someone sitting on my porch, and I could tell right away, it wasn't Eric, but it was a vampire. It was Bill. Oh great, so this is who Eric sends to check on me! He must really be upset with me, cause Bill is the last person he would send normally, unless it was an emergency.

I parked and got out of my car, and headed for my front door.

"Good evening Sookie." Bill said, and took a step in my direction. He was looking much better since the last time I had seen him. He had almost gotten all of his pale color back. But that didn't really matter, because from the moment I spotted him on my porch to the moment I had gotten to where he was now standing, I had gotten myself so worked up over Eric's nerve in sending Bill to check on me.

"Good evening Bill. Look, I'm really not in the mood right now, and I need you to be honest with me, did Eric send you to check on me? Be honest with me."

Bill dropped his head, "No, Pam sent me, but I assume it was on Eric's orders."

"Thanks Bill, that's all I needed to know. Now, I'm sorry Bill, but I'm really not in a good mood, and I'm tired. I'm going to head in for the night. Tell Pam, well, I don't care what you tell her.", and I headed towards my front door, and walked by Bill. Just as I was about to shut the door, he spoke again.

"Have you and Eric separated?"

Oh great. I looked over to Bill, now standing at the bottom of the steps that led up to my door. "I'm not sure, you would need to ask Eric that question.", and I slammed my door shut, and locked it. Not that locking it would do me any good if Bill wanted in, but I knew that he wouldn't do that.

I went into my kitchen and made myself some tea. It was still fairly early in the evening, and I wasn't anywhere close to being tired really. I just couldn't get over Eric having Pam call Bill to check on me. I couldn't get over Eric not wanting to check on me despite Sam's request to him earlier. I couldn't take it anymore. It had only been a day, but it was driving me crazy. I needed to know, for sure, where Eric and I stood, so that I could decide what I was going to do next. I went to my bedroom, and changed out of my work clothes, and into some jeans and a dark blue blouse that did my body some justice. No reason to go see Eric looking all frumpy.

I arrived at Fangtasia. It seemed to be a slow night, but it was the middle of the week. I parked in front this time, I didn't feel right just going through the employee entrance like I owned the place, like nothing was wrong. Pam was, as usual, working the door. She saw me coming up the walkway towards her, and instead of her normal, slightly creepy, cheerful greeting to me, she rolled her eyes.

"Eric is busy." she said, before I even got to the door.

"Well good evening to you to Pam.", I said, and stopped just in front of her. "That's okay, I can wait."

"No, you cannot. He is quite busy this evening. He won't have time to see you."

Oh, so you're gonna try and block me from seeing him? Fine, I have other ways, I thought to myself.

"Oh, well at least tell him I stopped by, would you?", and I shot her a smile, gave her a little puppy dog eyes.

Pam sighed, and gave me a little wink. Good, she wasn't entirely upset with me.

"Good night Pam."

"Good night Sookie. I will tell him you stopped by."

She wouldn't need to anyway; he wasn't getting away from me that easy tonight. I hopped back in my car, and got back on the road, headed to Eric's house. It's his fault anyway for showing me where he lived.


	7. Chapter 9

Okay, last one for tonight.

More in a day or so.

Charlaine Harris rocks my socks, and owns the characters.

I own nothing, please don't sue.

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I arrived at his home, and parked a few houses down. I got out of my car, and walked over to wait on his front porch. Eric didn't use the front door; rather he parked in his garage, and uses the door in there. If I stayed in my car, I would miss him coming home. Sometimes Eric only stayed at Fangtasia for a few hours before he finished the rest of his work from home, and sometimes he did all his work from the bar. I was hopping for the working from home kind of a night, as I was not looking forward to sitting here until four or five in the morning, and the later he got here, the less time I would have before he had to go to sleep for the day.

I'm not sure how long I was sitting there, but I know it wasn't more than an hour, when Eric pulled up. Before he had the chance to pull into his driveway completely, I jumped up, and ran in front of his car. If he wasn't a vampire, with vampire reflexes, I would have been hit, but I knew he would spot me in time. He slammed on his breaks, and I stepped out of the way. He opened his garage, and pulled inside, leaving the door to the garage open. I didn't go in, as he hadn't asked me yet, but I stood just close enough so that he wouldn't try to close it and keep me out unless he knew I was a safe distance. He stepped out of his car, and did not look pleased to see me there.

"Sookie, what are you doing at my home?" he said, almost angry.

"Pam said you were to busy to see me at Fangtasia, and I didn't want to miss seeing you tonight, so I figured this would be the best place to catch you at." I lowered my head, and started brushing at nothing on the ground with my foot.

"Sookie, you should not be here." he said, and took a step in my direction. He gave me a once over.

"You're cold, and it's late, I won't have you driving home at this hour alone. Come inside." And with that, he turned around and walked into his home through the garage door, and left it open for me to follow. I hit the button near the door so that the outside garage door would close.

Eric set the papers that he had brought home with him down on his kitchen counter, and grabbed a True Blood from his fridge, and stuck it in the microwave. Eric hated drinking True Blood, and since he was so old, he didn't really need much to begin with, so usually, lately, he just took what he needed from me. Watching him open it and take a sip hurt a little. I didn't want to jump right back into a bond, but if he was just taking from me, and I didn't take anything from him in return, the we should be alright. Maybe he thought that I didn't want him to take my blood anymore. Either way, I was still sad from seeing the True Blood.

I took a seat on a stool that was scooted against the island that he had in his kitchen, and froze. I had known exactly what I was going to say when I got here, but now, with Eric drinking the True Blood, and generally ignoring me, I had completely forgotten what I was going to say to him.

After a few minutes, Eric finished his True Blood, picked back up the papers that he had brought home, and headed to his office. He stopped just before he got to the hallway, "You can stay in my guest room if you wish." and then he disappeared into his office.

Well this just sucked. Now what! Sookie, you are not going to just let him ignore you like this! I got off the stool, and headed to his office. He had shut the door, but hadn't locked it. I opened it slowly. Eric was sitting at his desk, elbows on his desk, with his head in his hands.

"Eric?" I said, just above a whisper. He didn't move, but I know he herd me. "Eric, I didn't come over here just to stay in your guest room. Can we talk? You didn't really say anything last night." Still, no movement from Eric.

Well this was just going swell.

"Eric, look, I just wanted to let you know, that I still care about you. I still want you in my life. I still want" and paused to see if he seemed to be acknowledging anything I was saying, but he was still in the same position, same facial expression, from what I could tell since his face was in his hands, "I still want to be with you Eric."

These silences from him were killing me. After I said this last sentence, I didn't know what to do. I felt so exposed and vulnerable. There was no change from Eric for a few moments, and before I knew it, he was standing in front of me, looking down at me. He caught my face between his hands, and just stared at me. Since he had hold of me, I wasn't able to look away without looking awkward.

Finally, he spoke. "Sookie, you have broken our bond. I don't know what to think about that. This has," he paused, closed his eyes, and dropped his head, "Sookie, this has hurt me, more than I think you realize. I am sure of my feelings for you, but you clearly are not. I do not wish to be in this… relationship, if you are not sure of how you feel for me."

"But Eric, that's what I've been trying to tell you, I am sure! I am, I promise you, I have never been more sure." I reached my hands up and placed them on his, still holding my face.

"Your actions tell me otherwise." and with that, he let me go, and left his office. I watched him walk back to his room, and shut his door.

Well that did not go as planned. I stood in the doorway of his office, unable to move, or process what had just happened. Did Eric just dump me? And wait, what does he mean "your actions tell me otherwise."? Oh no you don't Mr. Northman! I was not letting him throw this back in my face.

I marched over to his bedroom door and practically threw it open. Eric was on his bed, just laying there. "What the hell do you think YOUR actions told me over the last two weeks? You didn't come to see me, you didn't call me, you didn't respond to any of my text messages. I even went to Fangtasia a few times, and I KNOW you were there, but you couldn't be bothered to see me. You know what! Fine! I'm over this vampire bullshit anyways." I was practically yelling that entire time, and throwing my hands in the air to accentuate words. I slammed his door shut again, and headed downstairs. I didn't even cry. Yay me! I probably would have if I wasn't so darn mad.

I couldn't stay here now, I was much too uncomfortable. I let myself out his front door, and headed back down to my car. I glanced back a few times to see if he was going to come after me, but he didn't. I started my drive home, and just as I was getting onto the highway, headed back to Bon Temps, I noticed a car behind me. At first, I thought it was Eric, but then I realized the headlights were to high up to be his corvette. I continued on my way home. By the time I got to my off ramp, I realized the same car was still behind me. Were they following me? I took my exit off the freeway, and so did the car behind me. Coincidence? I wasn't sure, and it was making me nervous. I continued on my way home however, now thinking I was probably just overreacting. I turned down the old parish road, and the car behind me did the same. Yep, they were following me.

Now, I normally wouldn't do this, but I pulled my cell phone from my purse, and called Eric. Bill or Sam would have been closer, but I felt safest calling Eric. But figures, he didn't answer, and it went to his voicemail. "Eric, its Sookie. Look, I just wanted to let you know that I'm almost home and someone is following me. I can't tell what type of car it is and I can't see their license plate or anything. I'm almost to my house, but I'm going to head over to Bill's instead. I hope he's home." I hung up. This way, he knew where I was last headed at least. I probably should have gone somewhere more populated, but that hasn't stopped an attacker for me before. I continued down the parish road, past the road that led to my house, past the cemetery, and turned onto Bills' driveway. The car behind me did the same. When I pulled up to Bill's house, I left my car running, and started to honk my horn. I didn't see any lights on, but that didn't mean he wasn't home right? Well, after a minute, it appeared that it did mean he was out for the night. Crap!

I had left my car in drive, and I stated to drive away, and then the car behind me bumped my car! What the heck is going on! All's I could think about was getting out of there ASAP. I gunned my little car as fast as I could go on the gravel road, and headed back out the way I came, with my follower close behind me. I decided that the next best thing would be to head over to Sam's, so that's where I headed. I probably would have gotten there two, if my stalker hadn't started to run me off the road! Well, now what. Quickly, I dialed Eric's number again, and stuffed it in my pocket. I don't know if he had picked up or if he let it go to voicemail again, so I just started talking.

"Eric, I don't know if you can hear this, but that car that was following me has run me off the road. I went to Bill's, but he wasn't home. I started to head back down the parish road, and I just passed the turnoff to my house, and it came up beside me and forced me off the road. I'm stuck in a ditch. Wait, I think they are getting out of their car. Yes, someone is getting out of the back seat. Eric, its Victor."

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Sorry for the cliffhanger. Well, I hope whoever is reading this see's it as a cliffhanger. :)

I promise to have an update tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Snoogans!


	8. Chapter 10

First off, THANK YOU for the reviews.

All's I have to say I guess is that I DO have a plan. :)

I've got quite a bit of this written, but now that I'm posting, I'm trying to go back through it and make any final changes before I post.

Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors.

Charlaine Harris is the bee's knees, and owns the characters and whatnot

I'm poor. Please don't sue.

Snoogans and enjoy!

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I could hear Eric on the line now, he had picked up.

"Sookie, can you hear me?"

"Yes.", I whispered back.

"Sookie, keep me on the line with you as long as you can. Have you hidden your phone?"

"Yes." I whispered back, quieter than I had before. I was worried that Victor might be able to hear me now.

"Sookie, stay calm, I am on my way. I will keep you on the line so that I can listen."

I took a deep breath; my heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. Victor was practically at my door now. I closed my eyes for a moment, and took another deep breath to try to calm myself down. Victor knocked on my side window. I rolled it down a crack.

"Hi Victor, can I help you?" I said, and tried my best to smile at him.

"Mrs. Northman. What are you doing out at this hour, alone?"

"Just heading home from Eric's. He had a lot of work to do, and I was only in the way, so I decided to head home to get some sleep." I hope he couldn't see me shaking.

"Now Mrs. Northman, please, be honest with me. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Northman, who we both know is very protective of you, would not send you home alone at this late hour, given recent events." Victor pursed his lips, and then did a "tisk tisk" noise.

"Oh he wanted to follow me, but I'm a big girl, I didn't think driving home was going to be that difficult." I was still trying to keep my smile, but I'm not sure how well that was working out. I was so scared, I felt numb.

"Now Mrs. Northman, I'm going to get to the point. I am aware of what has transpired between you and Mr. Northman over the past two weeks. I am also aware that you two are no longer together. I think this is news that our King would be most interested to know, don't you?"

"Victor, I have no clue what you are talking about. Eric and I are just fine. Better than fine in fact, despite what has happened." After his last statement, I knew I couldn't let Victor know the truth.

"Mrs. Northman, or should I now call you Ms. Stackhouse? Deceiving me is not going to do you any good. I wanted to let you know that now that you and Mr. Northman are no longer together, we are no longer recognizing your pledge to each other."

I didn't know what to say. I froze. I wondered if Eric could still hear what was going on. I hoped he was almost here.

Victor leaned down to my window. "Ms. Stackhouse, I just wanted to make sure you were aware that I am aware of the current situation. I will be in touch." and with that, Victor walked back to his car, got back into the backseat, and they drove off. I just sat in my car for a moment, trying to process what just happened, and I heard Eric's voice. I reached for my phone, and heard a knock on my window, and just about jumped out of my skin. It was Eric, and he was clicking his cell phone shut.

"That was quick." I told him once I had caught my breath from the little scare that he gave me. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and closed mine as well. Now that he was here, I realized that I was mad at him. Whatever was happening right now, he got me into. He couldn't even bother to answer his phone the first time I called him. Why did he even answer the second time? He didn't want to be with me anymore, he didn't care about me enough to try to stop me from driving home so late. Screw him! I was totally going into emotional overload, and it seemed like I was going to take it all out on Eric.

Eric grabbed the handle to my car door and pulled on it once, but it was locked. "Sookie, open your car door."

"No."

"Sookie, please open your car door." he asked, and pulled on the handle again.

"No, Eric. I just want to go home." I started my car, and tried to pull out of the ditch I had been run off into, to no avail. I decided I would just leave the car here until the morning, and then call Jason to see if he could help me get it out of the ditch. I rolled my window back up, grabbed my purse, and got out of my car, and locked it up. Eric was still standing by my car. I didn't acknowledge him still being there, and started to walk back down the parish road towards my house.

"Sookie, will you please stop for a moment so we can talk about this?"

"No, Eric. I'm going home." and I continued on my way. I could hear him following me, but I didn't stop to fight him again on this. We walked the rest of the way back to my home in silence. I got to my door, and unlocked it, but before I went in, I turned around and found that Eric had stopped at the bottom of the steps to my porch. I turned back to my door, and started to walk in when he pounced. Before I knew it, he had pushed me face first against the wall that separated the living room from my kitchen. He had his hands on my shoulders, and he leaned in so his lips were at my left ear. He took a deep breath in, smelling me I assumed, since he didn't technically need to breathe. He whispered my name into my ear, so quietly, I wasn't even sure I had heard it, and then he bent his head, and started to kiss my neck. Excitement and danger always did this to Eric.

Last night, or earlier tonight, this would have been welcome, but right now it was not. I tried to push myself away from the wall, to fight his grip on me, but it was like pushing against a brick wall. At least I knew he could feel me trying to fight him, and this made him stop the kisses, but he still didn't let me go. Instead, he turned me around to face him, and he planted one on me square on the lips. Oh great, just great. If Eric was anything, it was a good kisser and he knew it, and he knew how I felt about it, what it did to me. It took everything in me not to just lean in and continue with the flow.

When he let up so that I could take a breath, I took my chance to get his attention. "Eric. Eric, stop."

He pulled his face away from mine, and loosened his grip on me.

"Eric, please, just go home. You made it clear earlier we were through. And I don't know how, but now Victor knows it too. This has been one of the worst nights of my life, and I really just want to go to bed. Please Eric, please, just leave." I was fighting back tears at this point. How did everything go so wrong? And how DID Victor find out about us?

"I don't think it's safe to leave you alone right now Sookie. I'm going to stay the night, with you, and sleep here today." He took a step back, stood there for a moment thinking, and then headed to my bedroom.

I followed him in there, and found him checking the windows. He then walked back out of my room, and continued to search the rest of the house. I took this opportunity to grab something to sleep in, the frumpiest thing that I could find in my drawer, a pair of sweats, and a Tweety Bird nightshirt. I went into my bathroom, took down my hair, changed my into my pajamas, brushed my teeth and washed my face. When I came out, Eric was back in my room, and making himself quite comfortable. He had already taken off his shirt and shoes, and was in the middle of undoing his belt. Old habits die hard I guess, but he was crazy if he thought he was staying in my room with me, regardless of how much I wanted him to.

"Eric, you are not staying in here with me. If you want to have some downtime, you know where the guest bedroom is." and with that, I climbed into my bed, and pulled the covers all the way up to my chin. He stood there for a moment, apparently contemplating how serious I sounded, and decided I must not have been that serious, left his pants on, but climbed up on the bed.

"Eric, I'm serious! OUT!" I was so frustrated at this point, I thought I might punch him in the face to get my point across. At the last moment, I thought better of it. I would probably end up breaking my hand, and not leaving a mark on him.

"Sookie, you are not safe alone…" he began, but I didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Eric, I will be just as safe with you in the other room!" and with that, I pulled the covers all the way up over my head. "OUT!"

I felt him get back out of my bed, heard him gather his things, and leave my room. I don't know where he went in the house, and I didn't care. I didn't hear him go out the front door, which was good, cause I honestly did feel safer with him there, just so long as he wasn't in my room.

My mind wandered for a bit. I didn't hear a peep from Eric, and eventually I fell asleep. Then I started to dream. It started out as nothing in particular, just me, laying out on my lawn chair, in my favorite bikini, working on my tan. But then, things took a turn for the worse. My sunbathing dream turned into a nightmare. Victor came for me. He took me, and forced me to go to Las Vegas to be a mind reading slave for the King. I was tortured and raped, and kept from everyone I loved, for the rest of my life.

I awoke with a start, I was drenched in sweat, and practically hyperventilating. I jumped out of bed without thinking, and started searching my house for Eric. I found him in my living room, having downtime on my couch. I would have thought he heard me coming, but for once, I got to startle Eric. I practically jumped head first over the back of the couch, and landed right on top of him, and started to cry.

Instantly, his arms were wrapped around me, and he was trying to calm me down. "Sookie. Sookie be calm, what's happened? Shhhhh. Shhhhh." he said as he stroked my head with one hand, and hugged me close to him with his other. I had buried my face in his shoulder, and curled my arms up under me, bracing myself against his chest. "Sookie, it's okay, I have you. Tell me, what is wrong?"

I answered him through my sobs and told him about my nightmare. By the time I was done, I had pretty much stopped crying, but hadn't lifted my head from his chest. He stopped stroking my head, and moved his hand down to cross it over my back so I was in a full hug.

"My love, please don't worry about this. I want to make sure you know, that regardless of what happens with us, I will never let Victor or Felipe take you from your home, or force you to do anything you do not want to do." I was still sobbing a little after he said this, and he took his right arm and reached up to my face, and lifted my chin so that he could see my face.

"Do you understand?" he asked, and I shook my head yes, and took my last snivel. He let my chin go, and I buried my face back into his shoulder. We laid like that for a while. Eric stared to stroke my hair again after a bit, and then started to plant little kisses on my forehead. Now that I had calmed down, I wasn't as mad at him as I had been, especially after what he had said when I woke from my nightmare. He did care about me, I was sure of it now. This could all end up alright.

I let him continue to plant his little kisses on my forehead. It was comforting at first, but then, it started to feel like something else, and although I really, really wanted that something else, it wasn't right with how things were with us right now. I didn't want to fall right back to where we had been. If we were going to make this work, we had to do this the right way.

I lifted my head back up and looked into his eyes, oh, his smoldering blue eyes. He raised an eyebrow at me, and gave me an evil little grin. And oh, oh my, he gave a little wiggle, and adjusted himself just so under my body, and yep, Eric seemed to be back to himself again, and was ready to take this further for sure.

"I'm going to go back to bed. Thank you for staying. I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier." and I got up off the couch, and Eric. He rose after me, and started to follow me back to me bedroom.

"Eric," I said and I reached my door way. I stopped there, and turned to face him.

"Yes Lover?" he replied, and stopped right in front of me.

"I meant that I was going back to bed, alone." and I looked down at the ground.

"I understand." he said, but didn't move. "Can I at least stay in there with you? I promise not to touch."

I thought about that for a minute, and decided it was alright. Eric never lied to me, ever, and if he told me he wasn't going to touch, he wouldn't. I nodded my head in acceptance, and we headed to my bed. I crawled in on my normal side, and Eric on his. At first, we started off pretty far apart, but slowly, we inched our way towards each other, but still not touching. I started to doze off and then felt him moving around again under the covers. It was his hand, and he was reaching out for mine. He found it, with my palm facing up, and took it. Just like the night when I had found him amnesiac and running down the road to my house, except this time, he took my hand. That was the last thing I remembered.


	9. Chapter 11

Charlaine Harris awesome.

She owns the characters and what-not.

Please don't sue.

Snoogans.

* * *

I woke up the next morning just after dawn, alone. I went into my former room, now the guest room, and checked the closet. Sure enough, the items that normally rested on the floor of the closet had been moved, and I was sure Eric was sleeping down there. I put the things back into the closet, to hide the fact that he was there, just like I had always done for him, and for Bill when he used to stay down there.

I got about my day. I brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair. I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt that I had gotten from Fangtasia. It had the logo of one of their alcohol distributors on it. I used that as my house cleaning shirt. I didn't have to go to work until this afternoon, and since I was up, I decided to make myself busy instead of lounging around all day thinking about what had happened last night. I started in the kitchen, cleaned every nook and cranny, and then worked my way into the living room. I straightened the couch back up, and vacuumed. I was just starting to dust, when my phone rang. The caller ID told me it was Sam. I picked up the phone.

"Morning Sam."

"Morning Sook. Listen, sorry to call you so early, but I got a message from Eric last night. He said you wouldn't be in to work today, and that you could explain why, but he set up to have one of the girls from Fangtasia to come over and cover for you. What's going on, are you okay?"

Oh just lovely. Back to running my life, and we aren't even officially back together. Just like Eric, has to be in control.

"Oh Sam, that's not necessary, really. I can still work my shift. Did he tell you who was coming in? Can you call her and tell her it's alright?"

"Not until you tell me what's going on, then we'll see. If you're in some kind of danger Sook, enough that Eric would put himself a woman down from his own business, then I think I should be the one to decide if you should come in or not."

"Well, basically, Eric and I, well, I guess you could say we broke up the other night. And I don't know how, but Victor Madden found out. He ran me off the road last night, and told me he would be in touch with me again. I was able to get a hold of Eric and tell him what happened, and he came and stayed the night at my place. Sam, I think Victor wants to take me back to Nevada as a gift to the King there, Felipe. Victor told me that since Eric and I were no longer together, I was basically free game for him." and that was basically my situation in a nutshell. The phone was silent for a moment before Sam responded.

"Sook, stay at home. Don't leave the house. Does Victor have a day man like Eric?"

"I have no clue. So does this mean you aren't letting me come in to work?"

"Your damn right it does. Does Eric have someone coming over to stay with you today?"

"I don't know, he didn't say." and if that hadn't been perfect timing, my doorbell rang. I took the phone receiver with me to the door, took a look through the peephole, and about dropped the phone. "Sam, listen, I'm going to be fine. Eric did arrange for someone to watch me." Geeze, I sounded like a 5 year old who needed to be babysat. "It's Alcide. I will talk to you later okay, and give you an update."

We said our goodbyes, and hung up.

"I take it you got a message from Eric last night?" I said as I opened the door. Alcide's and my last encounter had not been a happy one, but I still considered him a friend, and I was happy to not be spending the day cooped up in the house alone.

"Well, good morning to you too Sookie. What kind of trouble did you get yourself in to this time?" and he smiled back at me.

I had him come in, and we went into the kitchen. I made him a cup of coffee, and myself some tea, and we sat at the table while I explained what had happened. He seemed as worried as Eric was, and Sam sounded, which just made me worry even more. Was this really that bad? I mean, I've had people after me before, and darn it, I was still at least able to live some kind of a life. But this seemed to have everyone who knew about it on edge. I wasn't going to fight anyone on this, and just keep myself as safe as possible this time.

We spent about an hour in the kitchen talking about what was going on with me, and then what was going on with him, and his pack. Alcide seemed to be pretty happy with things, and I was happy for him. We may have had our differences, but he had saved my life, and I did consider him a friend. After our conversation was finished., I suggested going out to get some lunch, and after some seriously heavy thinking on Alicde's part as to whether that was a good idea or not, he finally decided that we should be alright. He made a call before we headed out. He didn't want to head far, so we ended up at McDonalds just outside of Bon Temps. After that, I decided that I needed a little retail therapy, which I almost never did, unless it was a dire situation, which I considered this to be, (well, not dire, but I just really wanted to get myself something new, and this seemed the perfect excuse, Alcide couldn't say no.) so we headed over to Tara's Togs.

Alcide behaved like the perfect boyfriend, if he had actually been my boyfriend, and waited outside the dressing room while I tried on and modeled all the cute things I had found on the clearance rack. (Hey, I'm not made of money.) I decided on a cute little pink blouse that pulled over my head, was tight around the stomach, but loose in the bust. It kind of reminded me of the shape of a corset, but without all the binding and tightness. Alcide said the pink really brought out my tan, which made me laugh. I chatted with Tara for a while at the register before we left, and she gave me a little more off of the clearance price which was not necessary, but very nice of her. After that, we headed back to my place. Alcide hung out in the living room and watched some sports game that was on, while I finished up my cleaning.

At around 5 in the afternoon, I was finished. Alcide's game must have finished, and he had on the local news. I offered to make him dinner before he left, (I figured he wasn't going to stick around once Eric woke up.) but he declined. It was almost sunset when he left, and he said that I should be okay by myself until Eric woke. I had a feeling that him leaving before Eric woke was an order Eric had given him, so I didn't fight him on staying. I walked him out to his truck, thanked him for spending the day with me, and gave him a hug goodbye. He waited until I was back in the house, and the door locked, which he knew by the signal I was supposed to give him out the window, before he drove off.

By six, the sun had pretty much set, so I went into the spare room to take the stuff back out of the closet so that Eric didn't have a hard time getting out of the hidey hole. I decided to wait for him in the kitchen, and got a bottle of True Blood ready for him in case he was hungry.

Within a few minutes, Eric was up, and in my kitchen. He was already on his cell phone when he walked in. I could tell he was talking to Pam, and it seemed like he was arranging for his absence at Fangtasia. When he finished with his phone call, he sat down at the table with me.

"Sookie, when you realized you were being followed last night, where was that at?"

"Um, I think it was shortly after I had left your house. I know for sure by the time I was getting onto the highway to head back here, I was for sure being followed." I had to seriously think about this, as I really didn't start paying attention to the car behind me until I was already half way home.

He took his phone back out, and called Pam again. "Pam, he knows where I live. It's not safe at my house." pause "Yes. Meet us there in two hours." and he hung up his phone.

"Where are you meeting Pam in two hours?" I asked

"We are meeting Pam in two hours, and I would rather not talk about where we are going. It's not safe. Sookie, I'm going to need you to pack a bag. It's no longer safe for you here, whether someone is watching you or not. But I'm going to take you somewhere that is safe." I started to open my mouth in protest, but he stopped me, "Sookie, you can either pack your own bag and come with me of your own free will, or I will pack a bag for you, and take you there. Either way, you are going." and with that he slammed his fist down on my kitchen table, and I jumped. Well, if Eric was this scared, which I don't think I had really ever seen from him before, I better get packing. Plus, if I did protest, who knows what he would end up packing for me.

I got up from the table, silent, and just so that he didn't think he had won that easily, I flipped my hair back, huffed in his direction, and stomped out of the room. I went into my old room, now the spare room, and grabbed the only piece of luggage I owned. It was a little bigger than it sounded like I needed, but who knows how long I could actually end up staying, right? I went through each drawer and grabbed what I thought I would need. I could hear Eric in the kitchen, making more phone calls. It sounded like he was arranging our transportation to wherever it was we were going. I went through my closet next, and decided since I had no clue where we would end up, grabbed a little bit of everything. Next stop, bathroom. I packed everything. I had some travel sized items, but I didn't want to run out if we were there, wherever there was, for more than a few days.

It took me a total of about thirty minutes to pack, and when I was done, I rolled my luggage out to the living room. I left it there, and joined Eric in the kitchen.

"Bill will be here shortly to pick us up. He will be taking us to meet up with Pam." Another sign that he was desperate, asking Bill for help, again. I sat back down at the table where I had been, "I'm packed." was all I said.

Bill showed up shortly after that, and I started to do a round of the house before we left, to make sure everything was locked up. Eric took my bag out to Bill's car, and came back in just as I was headed up stairs.

He called out to me from the doorway, "Sookie." and I stopped at the base of the stairs. He came over to where I was standing, grabbed my chin with one hand, and kissed me for all he was worth. I found myself responding, and leaning in to him. He took his other hand, and placed it at the small of my back, and pulled me in to him the rest of the way. God he was such a good kisser. I could never get tired of his kisses, not in a million years. I wrapped my arms around his back and slowly worked my hand up to his shoulders. At that moment, all my fears, worries, troubles, cares, just drifted away, and it was just Eric and I, the way it should be.

Then I heard Bill clear his throat. Eric slowly ended our kiss, and we let each other go.

"Eric, we are ready." Bill said, looking away from us.

Ugh, Bill, you jerk, I hope he saw all of that, and I hope he hated every second of it.

Eric said he would check the upstairs windows, and I headed out to the porch with Bill.

"Am I to assume you are back together now?" Bill asked once we were outside.

"Bill, like I said before, I don't see how any of this is your business." and I crossed my arms across my chest. Eric emerged from my house a moment later, and I locked my front door.

"Can I call Jason and ask him to look over the house while I'm gone?" I asked Eric once we were in the car.

"I will have someone take care of that for you. The less contact we have with anyone right now, the better. We don't know who we can trust."

"Are you telling me I can't trust Jason?" I asked, but then realized that that was a stupid question. Of course I could trust Jason. I could trust him to spill to someone that Eric and I were gone, in hiding, and he was looking after my place while I was gone. I know he wouldn't do it maliciously, or to someone other than maybe his best friend Hoyt, but then, who knows who could be watching or listening, trying to get clues to my whereabouts once they realized I was gone. "Nevermind."

I sat back in my seat, and prepared for our ride to who knows where. Turns out, it wasn't much of a trip at all. We drove into Shreveport, and turned off into a busy Wal-Mart parking lot. We drove around a bit before we found Pam, standing outside a car that, if you could believe it, looked to be in worse shape than mine. We got out of the car, and Eric went over to speak with Pam. Bill stayed with me at his car, and got my bag out of his trunk.

"Sookie," Bill started to say, but then seemed to rethink what he was going to say to me in Eric's presence. It was probably best anyways, and right now, I really didn't care what he had to say.

We waited by the back of Bill's car for Eric and Pam to finish their conversation. It looked like he was giving her last minute instructions. Bill started to speak again.

"Sookie, be safe. Please, don't try to contact anyone. I will make sure your home is taken care of while you are gone. You don't need to worry. If you need help at all, you know how to reach me."

I nodded my head at him, and whispered "Thanks Bill." and gave him a quick smile.

Eric waived us over, and Bill brought my bag for me. I let him know I could carry it myself, but he insisted. Pam popped the trunk on our jalopy, and Bill loaded it in. Eric gave me a quick peck on the forehead, and walked me to passenger side of the car, opened my door, and then shut it for me once I was in and buckled up. I watched him head back around to the drivers side, and get in the car with me. I spotted Bill in my side mirror, and waved goodbye as Eric started up the car. Before we backed out, he reached into the glove compartment, and took out a blindfold.

"Here, put this on." he said, as he tossed it in my lap, and closed the glove compartment back up, and after a few tries, it finally stayed shut. I chuckled to myself over that one.

I picked the solid black blindfold up off my lap. "You're kidding right?"

"I am not. It's for your own safety Sookie. The less you know about where we are going the better. This way, I will be the only one who knows where you are, and I would rather be staked than give up your location."

"Wait, am I going to be staying at, wherever it is we are going, by myself?" I don't know if I actually looked as shocked at this as my face was portraying.

"No, I will be staying with you. But I still don't want anyone, including you, to know where you are. I will be the only one." he paused and turned to face me in his seat. "Sookie, trust me."

"Isn't is safer if I know where I am? What if something happens? What if I need help? How am I supposed to let anyone know where I am?"

"It will not come to that Sookie, I wont let it." Eric tapped his finger on the blindfold.

"But what if it does?" I asked as I lowered my head. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

He took my chin in his hand and raised my face to look at him. "Sookie, it wont. If it does, I will tell you then, but not before. Only if it is a last resort, and completely necessary."

I sighed. I guess I could live with that. It was better than not living at all right? I nodded my head, and put the blindfold on.


	10. Chapter 12

Last one for tonight. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading. It makes me happy. :D

Charlaine Harris is terrific. She owns the characters. I'm just borrowing during the SVM/TB drought.

Please don't sue.

Snoogans! More tomorrow.

* * *

I felt the car shift into gear, and back out of where we were parked, and then we were on our way. I could tell when we exited the parking lot, but after that, I was clueless for the most part. I could tell we got on the highway, but in which direction, I have no clue.

It was just after nine when we left, and it seemed like at least an hour had passed. Neither of us had spoken since Eric had talked me into putting on this silly blindfold. I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Are we almost there?" Not being able to see sucked.

"Perhaps. Are you alright?" he asked, and then I felt his hand on my knee. Since I couldn't see it coming, it startled me, and I jumped and gave a little scream. I heard him give a little chuckle to that.

"That wasn't funny!" I said, and reached my left arm out, slowly to find his shoulder to give it a little push. I smiled so that he knew I wasn't really upset. "I'm fine. A little thirsty I guess. Is there anything to drink?"

I could hear him fiddling with something in the back seat. It sounded like he was searching for something in a plastic bag.

"Here, put your left hand out." I complied, and felt him touch it with a plastic bottle. I gripped it, and had no trouble really getting the lid off, and taking a drink. I did it slowly however, since I couldn't see if there was a bump in the road coming or something. I didn't want to spill in the car, even if it was a heap, or on me. I closed the bottle back up and put it down at my feet where I could feel for it later.

We were silent again. Eric reached over and took my hand in his. It was comforting to feel him, and even though I felt like the rest of my senses were on full alert now that my sight had been taken by the blindfold, somehow, I fell asleep.

I'm not sure how long I was out, but thank goodness I didn't wake up until we had arrived. I didn't wake up to Eric opening my car door, or when he unbuckled my seat belt, but when he started to lift me out of the car, I did. I started to reach for the blindfold, then paused.

"Can I take this off now?" he had me out of the car, and cradled in his arms.

"Yes." and I could feel us moving. I took the cover off, and found us in… the woods? I blinked a few times, and rubbed my eyes. He was taking us to a small cabin. It looked like an honest to goodness log cabin. There was a stone chimney I could see on the side, and what appeared to be a little flower bed in front, although, it was apparent that no one lived here on a regular basis, as it was taken over with weeds. Which was fine, cause now I knew I at least had something to do.

"Who lives here? Is this your place?"

"Yes, although according to any map you look at, or if you were to go to the county office or Forrest Services, they would not know that it even existed." he said as we got to the door. He stopped there, and put me down. I was kind of hoping he was going to carry me over the threshold, but I guess we weren't quite back to that point with "us" yet.

He reached into his pocket, and took out a key to let us in. He opened the door, and my stars, it was musty, and there was dust everywhere. There was furniture, and thankfully, it had been covered with cloths from the last time anyone had stayed here. Well, now I knew I really had something to keep me busy for at least a day or two. He let me walk in first, and turned on a light. Yep, I was going to be a busy bee.

Eric went back out to the car to get my bag. He brought it in, and had me follow him down a small hallway to a back room. He switched on a light. Well, at least this room appeared to be clean enough to sleep in. He set my bag down in there, and took my hand.

"There are two bedrooms here. You are welcome to stay in this one if you wish. I apologize it's not the master bedroom." Like I cared if it was the master bedroom or not. "Come with me." and he led me back out to the hallway. We went across the hall to another room. He opened the door to that room, and there, there was a room about the size of a coat closet, with another door inside. We went through this next door, and Eric turned the light in there on. Since this was not setup like his normal home, I guessed that was to help keep the light out, like a dark room for a photographer.

The walls were pained a dark blue, and there were no windows. The bed in there took up almost the entire room. There was a closet in the far left corner of the room, and a nightstand on either side of the bed, and that was basically it. I assumed this was where Eric would be sleeping during the day. And then I realized that he had just set me up in a different room. Did he not want me sleeping in the same room as him anymore? Or did he think that I didn't want to sleep in the same room with him? I would have to test this later.

He lead me back out of that room, and back towards the living room. We stopped at another door, and it was the bathroom. Thank God it was fairly modern. It had a shower, a separate bathtub, a good sized countertop with sink, and a toilet. There were no towels however. I hope there was a linen closet somewhere. We left the bathroom, and what do you know, next stop, the linen closet. It was stocked with sheets, towels, pillows, and blankets.

After that, he led me back out to the living room. It was about the same size as my living room. There was a couch, a television, a fireplace, a recliner, and a coffee table. There was a lamp in the far corner, which lit up most of the living room, and a large window that was on the same wall as the front door. From here we went into the kitchen. It was a modest size. It had a refrigerator, a modern looking gas stove, lots of counter space, and a coffee maker. There was a table in the corner of the room with four chairs. Above the sink there was a large window as well, which was also on the same wall as the front door. He led me now to the far end of the kitchen, to a door which let onto a covered porch. Here, there was a washer/dryer combination, thank God for that too.

I looked up at him, and nodded my head. "This is a nice setup you have here. Why don't you come here more often?"

He looked down at me, "This home is strictly for emergencies. The less I come here, the less of a chance that someone will discover where it is."

That made sense I guess, but it seemed like an awful waste to never use this place, it was pretty nice. We went back to the living room, and Eric went out to the car again to get whatever else he had brought with us. He seemed to be gathering quite a few items, so I offered to help him, but he declined. He came back in with a bag of his own, along with several grocery bags full of food. He dropped his luggage bag in the living room, and brought the groceries into the kitchen. He started to unpack them, and was looking a bit clueless as to where things went. I told him to let me take are of it, and he could go get himself settled in since he would need to be asleep in a few hours.

He left the room, and I got started putting things away. As I went through the drawers and cupboards, I found that there were already dishes and utensils, a garbage can under the sink, and pots and pans. I went through the bags, and wondered if it was Pam who had gone shopping for me, cause there were a few feminine things in there I just could NOT picture Eric or Bill buying. However, it was obvious that Pam had never really had to use any of these things either, and so she just bought a little bit of each in hopes that she hit it right I guess. Other than that, the groceries were pretty basic; milk, eggs, coffee, stuff for sandwiches, a few steaks, some pasta and sauce for it. There was also some paper towel and toilet paper, and some shampoo and conditioner, body and face wash. After I was done putting things away in the kitchen, I picked up the items that belonged in the bathroom and headed in that direction.

I went through the living room, and turned the corner to go down the hall, and smack, right into Eric. I dropped everything, and fell flat on my butt. Of course, it didn't even phase Eric. He reached a hand out for me to help me up, and before I knew it, I was on my feet. I bent down to pick up the stuff that I dropped on the floor, and Eric did the same, except he bend over in the same space I was leaning over, and we bumped heads, which was like crashing into a boulder head first. It knocked me back on my butt again, except this time, boy did my head hurt! I rubbed my hand on top of my head and hissed air in through my teeth. Eric kneeled down beside me, and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Are you okay? Let me see." and he moved the my hand that was rubbing my head. He inspected the area, determined that I would probably have a bump, and then kissed the spot where we hit. He helped me back up, and this time, told me he would pick up the things, and put them in the bathroom, and I should go get myself some ice.

Now, the old Eric, blood bonded to me Eric, would have done both for me, even if I had protested. Guess I lost that luxury. Even if I didn't want him to do those things, it was still nice to be cared enough about to be asked anyways.

I walked back to the kitchen, got myself a dishrag, and went to the freezer, and of course, there was no ice. I also knew since I had just finished unpacking the groceries, there was no aspirin, and how the heck could I have forgotten to pack any either! Oh, that's right, I know how. I was rushed into packing and leaving my home with no advanced warning. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now I guess. I walked back into the living room, down the hall, and into the bathroom to check on Eric. I found him staring at a box of tampons. I turned about 10 different shades of red, and grabbed the box out of his hand.

"I can put the rest of this away, don't worry about it." and I started to shove everything into the cabinets under the sink.

"Where is your ice?" he asked as I shooed him out of my way so I could get to the shower to put away the shampoo.

"There wasn't any, but I'm ok, it doesn't hurt so much anymore."

He nodded his head and said, "If you make me a list of things that were forgotten, or that you need, I can go out tomorrow and pick them up." and he left the room.

After I was done there, I went into the bedroom designated as mine, and started to unpack my things. There was a window to the left with curtains, a bed against the far wall, a nightstand on either side, a small dresser with a mirror, and a closet on the right hand side. The bed had a cloth over it to keep the dust off, and I found that it had done a pretty good job once I had removed it carefully. The closet was pretty clean, so I put my clothes that needed to be hung up in there, and decided that I would do the rest in the morning once I had a chance to clean. I stood at the foot of my bed, and took a look around. I found myself yawning after a moment. I didn't realize until then how tired I was. I grabbed my frumpy pj's from my bag, and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When I was done, I went looking for Eric to let him know I was headed to bed. I found him in the kitchen, sitting at the table, drinking a True Blood. I took a seat at the table, across from him. He looked like he was in deep thought, but not quite in his vampire down time.

"What's on your mind?" I asked as I reached over and took his hand. He stirred slightly, and looked up at me.

"Nothing." he quietly responded. Well, it sure didn't look like "nothing" was on his mind. But whatever "wasn't" on his mind, I had a feeling I wasn't going to get it out of him right now.

"I'm gonna go to bed. Is there anything in particular you want me to do for you during the day?"

He looked back down at his bottle of True Blood, "All I ask is that you stay in the house. If you do go outside, please do not leave the perimeter of the cabin."

No problem, I had enough to do inside for the next few days anyways. I shook my head in acknowledgment, and got out of my chair. I walked around to his side of the table, and kissed his forehead. "Thank you, for everything." He didn't move, and didn't really to even acknowledge what I had said.

I walked back to my room, climbed in bed, turned off my light, and fell right asleep.


	11. Chapters 13, 14, and 15

**Hello everyone,**

**Hope ya'll are enjoying.**

**I'm going to try to continue to post every day until I either catch up to where I am currently in the story, or until it's just done.**

**I've got chapters 13 through 15 here since they were pretty short individually.**

**Thanks for the reviews and comments, it's very welcome and appreciated. :D**

**As always, Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Please don't sue.

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**

**Chapter 13**

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I woke up just after dawn. I went to the bathroom, and went through my normal routine. No reason to let myself go, even if no one but Eric, who has seen me in the worst possible shape, was going to see me. I went to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee, and made myself some eggs. After breakfast, I changed into a different pair of sweats that I had, and an old t-shirt, and decided to get to work cleaning the place up.

I started out in the living room, taking the cloths and sheets off all the furniture. I found a broom and furniture polish out by the washer/dryer, and in the linen closet I found some dusting rags. I got to work sweeping up, and dusting. By the time that was done, it was about noon, and I was hungry for lunch. I made myself a sandwich and had a coke for a little caffeine boost. I cleaned up after myself, and then got started on the nitty gritty of cleaning the kitchen. That didn't take me to long, so I had time to move on to the bathroom. Once that was done, which also didn't take me as long as I thought it would, I was tired.

But I didn't want to go sleep alone in my room. I had been alone all day. I changed back into my pajamas and then I crept over to Eric's bedroom door. Even though I knew I wouldn't wake him, I still tried to be as quiet as possible. I went into the small, inner room, and shut the door behind me. Then I opened up the door that actually led into the bedroom. I was surprised to find it wasn't pitch black. There was a small nightlight in the wall socket by the bed. I crept over to the side of the bed Eric wasn't completely occupying, and climbed in next to him. I figured that I could sleep an hour or so, and then be back out of the room before Eric even woke up.

I got under the covers, and scooted as close to him as I could. I curled up next to him. I felt safe and calm lying there. I fell asleep in no time.

**

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Chapter 14**

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But I didn't wake up in time. Instead, I woke up in Eric's bed, alone. Did he just leave me here in bed, and not even try to wake me up?

I got out of bed, and started searching the cabin for Eric. I found him sitting on the front porch. I stood in the doorway, but didn't say anything.

He turned to look at me finally after I had been standing there a minute or two.

"Did you make a list?"

Crap! Nope, I meant to, but I fell asleep, in your bed. Remember, the one that you just left me in? I didn't actually say that, but I wanted to. Instead I just said, "No, we don't really need anything right now. Probably will though in a few days."

He nodded his head, and went back to staring out at the woods. I walked outside and sat down next to him, with a good 3 feet between us. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, and I finally spoke.

"Eric, I was thinking. Why can't we just go back, and tell them we are still bonded from the little knife thing? I mean, how do they know for sure anything happened between us that would cause it to be void? Wouldn't there be something we would have to do to make that null and void anyways?" I curled my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around my legs to hold them there, and rested my head on my knees, with my face pointed in his direction. From this angle, I could just see enough of his face to tell his expression had gone from blank, to upset. And now, since he was being quiet, I could tell he was trying his best not to yell at me. Great! What did I say?

He didn't look at me, but began to explain. "Sookie, you did do something to make it null and void. You broke our blood bond. The knife is used to bond people in two steps. One, they share blood to create the blood bond itself. Two, one person presents the knife to the other. To break this union, you either extinguish the blood bond, or you take back the knife in a ceremony."

Oh crap. "But how would they even know that we no longer had a blood bond?"

"Someone knows what YOU did, and told Victor." He rubbed his face with both hands in frustration.

"So why don't we just go back, do the blood bond again, and I can give you the knife again, easy peasie!"

"NO SOOKIE! Not 'easy peasie'! Do you know how hard it was for me to keep my hands on that knife in the first place? And with such an important artifact for my kind, do you really think Victor just let me hold on to that after you presented it to me? It's gone Sookie. Victor has either kept it for himself, or returned it to Felipe." He rubbed his face again in frustration. He still hadn't turned to look at me. "We could bond again, but without being pledged, they could still take you, and no other kingdom would care. It would be Felipe's right."

"Eric, I'm sorry." and I broke down. I put my head down, and just sobbed. Eric didn't try to comfort me at all. He stood up, and walked away into the woods. I didn't try to follow.

We pretty much avoided each other for the rest of the night. Well, the rest of my night. I stayed up for a few hours, cleaned my room, and finished unpacking. I showered, changed into some clean pajamas, and headed to the kitchen for a glass of milk before bed. The sight of me was so unbearable apparently, that Eric, who had been in the kitchen when I walked in and in the middle of drinking another True Blood, saw me, got up, and walked out. I went back to my room, and cried myself to sleep.

**

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Chapter 15**

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The next few days pretty much went the same. I did my best to stay up all day, so that I would sleep all night. We were both doing our best at this point to avoid each other, and when we were around each other, neither of us spoke. It was awkward at first, but by the fifth day or so, I was up just after dawn, and by the time the sun was setting, I had had dinner, and would retire to my bedroom for the night. If he was going anywhere at night, he waited until I was asleep to do it. Otherwise I could hear him wandering around the cabin, or watching television.

In the early afternoon of our ninth day avoiding each other, I was doing some laundry, and found Eric's cell phone sitting on the steps that led out the back porch. I don't know what came over me just then, but I decided to look through his phone, see if I could get any kind of a clue as to what was going on back home. I'm normally not this invasive of someone else's property or privacy, but I was dying for some news at this point.

I flipped it open, and went for the text messages. He had only been in contact with Pam it appeared. Made sense if he wanted us to stay hidden. I started reading their messages back and forth to each other over the last few days. Most of it was just general things. He seemed to ask about his bar on a nightly basis. He had answered a few business questions that she had. And then I saw my name. Pam had asked about me. Eric answered, "Still not speaking.". Pam's message from the next night read, "I have the knife.".

"She has the knife?" I asked myself aloud. Wait, THE knife? What the hell were we still doing here? Pam has the knife, that could fix this entire mess, and we were still stuck out here, alone, not speaking, not doing anything! I felt like a hostage now. A furious hostage. A furious hostage who's captor was dead asleep for the next hour or so. Wait, Sookie, how the hell are you going to get out of here? You have no clue where you are, you don't know where the keys to the car are. You have Eric's phone, but how the hell are you going to tell anyone where to come get you at? No, I couldn't just leave, not tonight. Tonight, I will talk to Eric, see if I can get this out of him. If not, then I'm gone first thing in the morning. That will give me a whole 9 hours at least head start on him.

I couldn't let Eric know I was on to him. I had to keep my cool. I went about the rest of my chores, finished my laundry, and started to make dinner.

Eric woke, and came straight to the kitchen. As usual, he didn't say anything to me.

"Good evening Eric." That stopped him dead (no pun intended) in his tracks. He looked over to me.

"Good evening Sookie."

"How did you sleep?"

He seemed shocked I was continuing to speak with him, but he kept responding. "Well, thank you."

"So, any word from home? Victor looking for us yet?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't spoken to anyone since we have been here. The less contact with anyone back home the better."

"Oh, right right." you liar! Eric had never lied to me before. Ever. He always told me the truth, even if I didn't want to hear it.

I finished making my dinner, served myself a plate, and sat down at the kitchen table.

"So how much longer do you think we will have to stay here?"

"I'm not sure. Pam has been instructed to look for the knife, and would contact me once she has it."

"I see." L-I-A-R! "So are you as anxious to get back as I am?"

"I suppose." he said, and seemed to look puzzled at the random chit chat that we were having. After almost a week of not speaking, and completely avoiding each other in the same house, I had this conversation with him? At least, that's what his face looked like it was saying.

I was so angry with him now, I could cry. I dropped my fork on the plate, crossed my arms, and leaned back in my chair, with a scowl on my face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I know I was supposed to keep my mouth shut, but I just couldn't. "You lied to me."

"What?" He was looking at me with genuine confusion. "Sookie, I have never lied to you."

"Yes, you have. Just now. I know you have been in contact with Pam. I know she has the knife. I know that you have basically been keeping me here now against my will." Well maybe it wasn't against my will completely, but that's how it felt. "I want you to take us back home, tonight. And if you wont, I will leave on my own." I got up from the table, and headed to my room. I got out my luggage, and started to pack my things. Eric followed me.

"Sookie, Pam does not have the knife. What are you doing?"

"I'm packing. We're leaving, well at least I'm leaving. I really don't care what you do, since you just lied to me again."

"Sookie, I am not lying to you. Pam doesn't have the knife. She has A knife, but not THE knife. She was trying to work something out for me, but it's not ready to be tested yet. If you would just calm down, I will explain everything. Sookie, stop." he reached out to stop me from packing. At this point, everything from my closet was in my bag.

Eric grabbed my shoulders to hold me in place. "Sookie, stop, just listen to me for a moment."

He let go of my shoulders, and I slapped him in the face. "I will never listen to you again! I'm leaving Eric, and you can either take me back, or I'm going on my own."

"Sookie, you are not going anywhere. It's not safe. Pam doesn't have the real knife. If you go back, Victor will take you, and you will never see your home, your family, your friends, ever again."

I had started to take my things from the dresser now, and with his last sentence, I stopped. I dropped my arms to my side, and walked over to where Eric was standing, and looked up to his face.

"I wont go home then. I will go somewhere else. Just so long as I'm not here, with you. I don't want to be anywhere near you, ever again."

He let out a great sigh, and reached for me again, but I dodged his hands. But not the next time he grabbed for me. He took me by my shoulders, pulled me to him, and put me in a bear hug. "Sookie, you are not leaving, if that means that I have to tie you up, than that is what I will do to keep you safe."

"Keep me safe, sure. More like keep me hostage." He slung me over his shoulder, and headed out to the living room, and through the kitchen to where the laundry room was. I heard him reach into the cabinet that was in there, and then we headed back to my bedroom. I couldn't tell what he had grabbed. Once we were back in my room, he tossed me on my bed. Right away I tried to get up, but he put a hand on my chest to keep me in place. Damn his vampire strength. Now I could see what he had grabbed. Rope.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!"

"Whatever it takes to keep you safe. Now, you can either fight me on what I'm about to do, and have it hurt like hell, or you can relax."

He was crazy if he thought I was just going to lay there, so I fought like hell, and he was right, it hurt like hell. The bed in my room was a 4-post bed. He tied an arm to each post, and then tied a let to each post. I wasn't going anywhere, damn him. But I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easy.

Eric was leaning over me now, checking the knot on my right wrist. I was starting to have a panic attack. I had started having those after my attack, but over time, they went away. Now, I was starting to have one, all thanks to Eric. How freaking insensitive could he be to me right now? After the mutilation that I had gone through, and he's tying me up. Yeah, great plan Eric. I was in half panic mode, half fight mode.

"You're no better than Lochlan and Neave. I hate you." I said in a whisper.

Eric froze, and closed his eyes. He stood back up straight, and I could see a single tear of blood run down his cheek. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke, "You don't mean that."

"Oh yes I do Eric Northman. I hate you for this. I will never forgive you, ever. After what I went through, I cant believe you're doing this to me." The panic was starting to set in more so now. My breathing was speeding up, and I could feel myself start to sweat.

"I would rather have you hating me for eternity than have you dead." And with that, he left my room.


	12. Chapter 16

**Again, thank you for the wonderful reviews and comments.**

**I'm going to put a little bit of info on how I fell about the situation at the end of this chapter, and I hope it answers any questions out there that ya'll may have, and why i'm writing this in the first place.**

**I think this chapter is going to be it for the night. I couldn't just leave off where i did with 13-15, it was a bit harsh, so I hope this makes it a little better.**

**Charlaine Harris is the brains to my zombie.**

**She owns the characters and whatnot.**

**I'm a poor zombie, please don't sue.**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

I really started to panic when he left the room, and it took me a good 30 minutes to calm down enough to where I could start to focus on getting myself out of these ropes.

I struggled for about an hour or so, then gave up. There was just no way I was getting out of these ties, and my wrists hurt even worse than when Eric had first tied me. I had given myself a pretty bad case of rope burn, and both of my wrists were bleeding. Now, any movement I made in my arms made my wrists hurt.

Another hour passed, and Eric came back in my room.

"Get out." I said, but he didn't listen. He walked over to the side of my bed, and I noticed he had a washcloth in his hand. He sat next to me and started cleaning off my left wrist, and when he was done, went around to my right side, and did the same to my other wrist. When he was finished, he left the room, and then came back a minute later, but this time without the washcloth. He came back to the bed, and sat to my left.

"Sookie. Pam has procured a knife that looks almost identical to the real one. I did not tell you of this, because we are not sure if it is going to fool Victor. I don't want to risk taking you back, and have this plan fail. I may not be able to get you away as safely next time."

The whole time he was speaking, I stared straight ahead. But my resolve to hate him was fading.

He continued, "As for lying to you, technically I did not speak with Pam, she has sent me several text messages, and I have responded, as I'm sure you have seen. But I never talked to her. I didn't realize you considered texting the same as speaking, or I would have phrased my response to you clearer." I rolled my eyes at that response. He was really getting technical to get out of this one.

He reached up, and started to untie my wrist. I cradled my hand to my chest once it was free. Eric walked to the other side of the bed, and untied my right wrist. He went back to the foot of my bed, and started to untie my ankles.

"You are free to leave if that is what you wish. I hope you do not, and you realize that none of this was meant to hurt you Sookie. I was only doing this for your own safety." And with that, he finished with my ankles, and left the room.

I sat up in my bed, and thought about what he had said. God, what was wrong with me. After I broke Eric's heart, he still dropped everything to help me. Sure, he wasn't completely without blame for tonight's events, but maybe I did overreact, slightly. I hated that Eric had this effect on me.

Besides, being stuck in bed made me think, where the heck was I going to go?

I got out of bed, and went to find Eric. He was in the living room, sitting in the recliner, staring at a fire he had lit in the fireplace. I walked over to his side, and stood there for a moment, and then threw myself onto his lap, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Eric, I'm so sorry." and wouldn't you know it, I started to cry again. Geeze Sookie, enough with the crying already!

Eric hugged me back, holding me as tight as he could, whispering in my ear for me to relax. This crying spell didn't last very long, and soon, I was just sniveling here and there, cradled in his arms.

"Eric, I don't hate you."

"I know."

"Eric?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I got us into this mess."

He looked down at me now, "Sookie, it's not your fault. You felt you had something you needed to do, and you did it. If I had been more open with you," I placed my fingers on his lips, and when I could tell he wouldn't finish what he was saying, I took them away, and we went back to cuddling in the recliner.

After a while, I started to stroke his chest through his shirt, and nuzzle my face into his neck. Eric started to stroke my back, and plant little kisses on my forehead. Pretty soon, I found myself kissing his neck, and Eric's kisses on my forehead were working their way down. Before I knew it, our lips were hovering over each others, just out of reach.

Eric whispered "Sookie, look at me.", and I did, and our lips grazed each other, and then he pounced. The kiss was nice at first. Slow and leisurely. Then he picked up the pace. I gripped my arms tighter around his neck, and his hold on me tightened as well. His kisses were coming more furious, and working their way from my mouth to just below my ear.

"Eric." I sighed, and before I knew it we were out of the chair, and he was carrying me to his bedroom. He laid me gently on the bed, and undressed himself completely. Next, he undressed me. First my top, then my jeans. He started to go for my bra, and I stopped him.

"Wait, let me do it. You have a habit of tearing my under things, and I can't afford to lose a piece of clothing out here, with no way of knowing when I will be able to get my hands on a replacement." and I smiled at him. He stared at me for a moment, and watched me start to unhook my bra, and let out a laugh from deep in his gut. It was the most beautiful sound ever. I hadn't heard him laugh like that in a few weeks. After my bra, I slipped off my panties as slowly as I could, and watched him practically drool.

"Now?" he asked, and I shook my head yes. I scooted over and he climbed into bed next to me. I was laying on my back, and Eric was next to me, on his side, propped up on his elbow, and hovering over me. We picked up where we left off. I embraced him, and let my hand rub him from his upper back, down to his lower back, and then to that gorgeous butt of his. God I missed that butt.

Eric in the mean time had moved the kissing from my mouth, down to my neck, then breasts, stomach, and then lower, much low.. "Oh Eric!"

He looked up at me from down there, and winked. I laughed, and then I moaned. Okay, this had gone on long enough as far as I was concerned.

"Eric. Ooohh. Eric, Eric look at me." He stopped what he was doing and looked up. "Come here." I said, almost growling. He worked his way back up my body slowly, and then he was at my mouth again. I lifted my hips up to him, and reached down to grab him, to let him know it was time. He slid right in, as far as he could go, and I gasped. I don't care how many times we had sex, I was never going to get used to his size completely. It didn't hurt, but there was a lot to take in for little ol' me.

Eric started at a steady pace, which was driving me wild, and he could tell. I tried to pick up the pace even more, and I could feel myself getting closer to the end.

"Slowly Lover." he said, and I tried my best to slow down and match his tempo. He could tell I was getting closer to finishing, and he got even slower, and his strokes got longer to where he was almost completely pulling out of me. On his last round, he did pull all the way out. I gasped "Eric!" and he paused there for a moment, and then shoved back in, and practically pounded me into the bed. At that moment, I started to soar, and I think I may have blacked out for a moment. I came to just as Eric was about to have his happy moment. His fangs were out, and I could tell he was wanting to bite me like he normally did. I had enough sense about me to whisper "No." to him, which didn't seem to phase him, and he finished as soon as the word left my lips, then he collapsed on top of me.

I wrapped my arms around him, and kissed his neck. Eric rolled off me and on to his side, and propped himself back up on one elbow. He put his arm over me, and was rubbing my side with his hand. It gave me chills.

I turned over onto my side to face him, and he embraced me. I buried my face in his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"Lover, why are you sorry?"

"That I didn't want you to take my blood."

"It's okay. I don't need to Lover."

"It's just that, well, I went all the way to New Orleans to, well, you know, which ended up getting us in this whole mess, and it just seems like what I started out to do shouldn't just be wasted."

I'm not sure what part of that was funny, but Eric laughed, and gripped me tighter. I asked why he was laughing.

"Sookie, it's 'no biggie', as you say."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I don't need to have your blood to have amazing sex with you."

"You don't? I mean, Bill always said," Crap! Why did I just say Bill's name while I was in bed with Eric? This whole blood mess had me so flustered, I'm talking about Bill and I in bed as a reference for crying out loud!

Eric didn't seem to mind though, he leaned back so that he could look down at me. "Lover, I don't need your blood to enjoy sex with you. I could enjoy sex with you all night long without your blood. Any man who told you different doesn't know what he is doing in bed."

"Oh really? All night without my blood? Prove it."

And he did.

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Well, hope you all enjoyed!

So like I said, I hope this clears up any questions ya'll may have, and my motive for writing this.

It was May 4th, 2010, 12:30p.m.

I was getting off work early SPECIFICALLY to go pick up my copy of DITF, go home, curl up on the couch with the book and a True Blood, and enjoy the rest of my evening drowning in a sea of Sookie and Eric and SVM bliss.

I was mistaken.

I was happy as a clam with the book,

through page 17.

My main complaint is that the chapter that ends on page 17, the last two sentences on the page are EPIC!

The rest of the story really wasn't.

This story that I have written here is a bit of what my best friend and I had discussed about what we wished would have happened in book 10.

Victor.

Here's how I feel about a few themes and ongoing things in the SVM's and how I'm dealing with them in my story.

I don't hate the blood bond like Charlaine Harris does, but it's been gone about all wrong. So I'm trying to fix that.

Sookie is normally a smart girl for the most part.

But not when it comes to Eric.

Yes, they should have a LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG talk. I agree, completely, 100%

Will they ever? Sure, when they can both get their heads out of their butts.

I love me some Eric, and I love me some Sookie, and I love me some E+S=Forver (but not vampire forever, human life forever, ya know?)

But those two are completely incapable of having an adult conversation if their lives or immortality depended on it.

Maybe someday it will happen. ;)

But until then, I think that they both need to grow up a little more, and probably need to come to some breaking point where NOT talking about things has just completely destroyed them.

Until then, Charlaine Harris books wise, I just don't see them having that talk.

For my story... just have to wait and see!


	13. Chapter 17

**Adding a few more chapters tonight.**

**Thanks again for the love. :)**

**It was also brought to my attention that there is a hitch in my giddy-up, and it will be fixed shortly. Thanks for the heads up, I had completely forgot that piece of info. ;)**

**I also decided last night that once I'm done here, there will be at least two side stories. One of which will be about Eric's two weeks at the beginning of the story. But ONLY once I have finished this monster. Trust me, there is LOTS to come still on this one.  
**

**Anyways, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and rights, I'm just borrowing.**

**Snoogans to all!  
**

* * *

I slept most of the day in Eric's arms. We had been cuddling when he fell asleep, and now he had an almost iron grip on me. I did wake up a few times to adjust in his arms, but I didn't mind being stuck there at all.

I woke up for good just before sunset. I managed to wiggle my way out of his arms, since I really needed to. Bad. Hello, human! Need a bathroom break! I left the room, and headed for the bathroom. I decided to hop in the shower and get ready for the day, I mean night, before Eric woke up. When I was done in the bathroom, I went into my room, and got dressed. Nothing special, just some jeans and a sweatshirt. I headed out to the kitchen, and started to make myself something to eat. I looked out the window, and realized that Eric should be getting up any minute. I took a True Blood out of the fridge, and set it by the microwave, ready to be heated up as soon as he was up.

Normally, Eric didn't require blood that often. Well, that is, when he was getting the real thing. But if he was drinking nothing but True Bloods, he seemed to need more to be satisfied. Since we had decided that for now, he wouldn't be drinking from me, we were going to need more of these soon, along with some other supplies.

I sat at the kitchen table, and started to make a list of what we would need. Well, most of the items would actually be for me, but they were still needed. I was concentrating on the list, and didn't hear Eric come into the room. He gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I about jumped out of my skin.

"Eric!" I yelled, and he laughed.

"I'm sorry, Lover." and he leaned down and gave me another kiss on the cheek. I looked up at him, and got a kiss on the lips this time. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Making a list of stuff we need." and I handed it to him. "Is there anything you need aside from what I have there?"

He looked the list over, shook his head no, and handed it back. "Do you need these items tonight?"

"Some of them I do, yes. And you're going to need more True Blood for tomorrow night."

"I will go tonight then."

"Can I come with you?" I asked, as I gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

"Don't make me have to tell you no Sookie." and he placed his hand under my chin, and gave me another kiss on the lips. I shrugged my shoulders, and finished the last few items on the list. I tore the paper off the pad, and handed it to him.

"When are you going?"

"I will go now. I will need to make it to a store before they are all closed for the night."

Eric headed back to his room, and changed. Before he headed out the door, he stopped back in the kitchen where I was finishing up my breakfast, and kissed my neck. "I won't be long. Lock the door when I leave, and don't answer it for anyone Sookie, even if you know them, don't answer the door."

"Yes dad."

He raised an eyebrow at me, and started to ask what I meant by that, but I just waived my hand at him, "Figure of speech, don't worry about it." and I giggled to myself. I got out of my chair and followed him to the front door. I got one last kiss on the lips before he left, and I locked the door behind him.

Now that I was alone in the house, at night, I was a little spooked. I kind of wished I had pushed Eric on letting me go with him. I went back to the kitchen, and finished up my breakfast. I cleaned up my dishes, and got a load of laundry to start in the wash. I went into Eric's room to get anything of his that might need to be washed, and on my way back down the hall, I heard something on the front porch. I dropped the clothes that were in my hands, and ducked down on the floor, as close to the wall as I could get.

I waited and listened, and heard nothing. I slowed my breathing as much as I could, and tried to stay calm. I heard a step. I closed my eyes. Please, please let that be Eric, or an animal. We were in the woods, it could be a dear or something right? I continued to wait and listen. I wasn't hearing the noise anymore, but I was still to scared to move. My mind was running wild with thoughts of being kidnapped by Victor and sent to Las Vegas. I thought about getting up and hiding our bedroom, or the bathroom, or somewhere, but finally I decided to just stay there in the hall until Eric got back.

Just when I had resolved myself that I was being silly, and it was safe to get up, I heard the noise again, except this time, the knob on the front door started to turn. I was on the edge of screaming, and Eric walked in. His hands were full with bags, and he called my name when he opened the door. I jumped up from my spot, ran over to him, and jumped in his arms, and started to cry.

"Lover, what's wrong?" he asked as he dropped the bags to wrap his arms around me. I was in full on breakdown mode, and couldn't talk through the tears if I tried. "Sookie, my Sookie, shhhh. Calm down, it's alright. I'm here, you are safe now. Sookie, what's the matter?"

I gripped him as tight as I could, and tried my best to stop crying. After a few minutes, I had calmed down enough to start talking.

"Someone," sob, sob, "someone was here. Or something." sniff, sniff, "I don't know what it was, but it was on the porch."

I felt his grip tighten around me even more for a moment, and then he set me down. He took my face in his hands, and kissed my eyes very gently, and then my lips.

He turned and went out the front door, and on to the porch. I peeked my head out and watched him walk up and down it, stopping here and there to smell the air. After a few minutes of this, he headed back inside.

"What did you find?" I asked him, anxious to know what was going on.

"Nothing." he said, in an unsure tone. "I could smell an animal, but it didn't seem quite right." He had a puzzled look on his face, but he picked the groceries back up, and we headed to the kitchen.

"What do you mean that it was an animal, but not quite right? Like a Shifter? Or a Were?"

"No, not that. I don't know, Sookie. It was just different." He started to help me unpack, and watched me absentmindedly as I put stuff away. When I was done, I went into the living room, and started up the fireplace. Eric followed me, and laid out on the couch. Once I got the fire going, I went over, and laid on top of him. He wrapped his arms around me, and stayed silent. I watched the fire for a while, and soon was completely calmed down.

I decided that it was time to finish what I needed to do for the night, and got up, and went back to the hall where I had dropped Eric's clothes. I gathered it up, and headed through the kitchen and into the laundry room. He followed me in there, and watched as I started the wash. I went about the rest of the household chores that I needed to get done, now that I was changing my schedule (since Eric couldn't change his) from day to night.

Eric seemed to be bored after a while, and went back to the living room, and turned on the television. Typical man behavior, or so I've been told. I didn't really have a lot of personal experience in that area.

The rest of the night was uneventful, and when it got close to dawn, and Eric had to get to bed, I went with him.


	14. Chapter 18

**Charlaine Harris owns this stuff, I'm just taking them out for a spin on the ol' keyboard.**

**One more after this for the night, then more tomorrow. :)**

**Enjoy and Snoogans!  
**

* * *

The next ten days or so continued like this. We were a regular domestic couple. I had started to insist that he help me with some of the chores around the cabin. I was teaching him how to do the laundry, and had him cleaning things that I wasn't tall enough to reach, with my supervision, of course. I found that when it came to cleaning, if he wasn't supervised, he soon got bored of the task, and simply stopped. But I guess after living for a thousand years, and all the things he's seen and done, cleaning the top shelf's that I couldn't reach in the kitchen was probably pretty low on the list.

I felt like a housewife, and I loved it. I loved taking care of Eric, and our little, hopefully temporary, home. I had almost completely adjusted to sleeping all day, and staying awake all night with Eric. Since I didn't have a job or anything to go to, it made sense for me to do it, and once we were out of here, I could just as easily switch back.

Eric and I were also almost completely back to normal. We had had sex almost every night now. He still wasn't taking blood from me, by my choice, but it didn't seem to bother him.

It had been almost two weeks since he had left the cabin and gone to the store, and there were some things we were running low on again or completely out of. I was terrified of the thought of him leaving me home alone again.

"Sookie!" he called to me from the kitchen. I had been in the bathroom fixing my hair. I had been up for about an hour, and Eric had just woken up. I went out to the kitchen to see what he needed.

"Sookie," he said to me as I walked in. He had the refrigerator door open, and was peering inside. "why didn't you tell me that another trip to the store was needed?"

Oh great! He caught me. "Well," I started, and I lowered my head, "I didn't want you to leave. What if what ever was here last time comes back?"

He thought about this for a moment. He could tell I was uneasy with the thought of him leaving, so he walked over to me, and hugged me to his chest.

"I don't think what ever had been here before was a threat. It hasn't been back. It was probably just an animal investigating the area."

"Are you sure?" I asked, and looked up at him. He kissed my forehead.

"Yes, I'm positive. But if it will make you feel better, I have something to show you." He took my hand, and led me out the door that was connected through the laundry room. We walked through the woods a ways, and then stopped at no place in particular. Eric started to kick some of the dirt and tree leave's that were on the ground, and then pulled back what appeared to be a piece of cloth that was camouflaged with dirt and debris, and then I could make out a small hatch in the ground. He cleared away the rest dirt, and reached down to open the now obvious door in the ground.

"I built this the first week we were here, when we weren't speaking."

"I can hardly see anything Eric. Remember, human eyes." I smiled and pointed to my eyes just to be a smarty pants about it.

"Oops, sorry, don't move." and he ran back to the house, then back to me a moment later, with a flashlight. He shined it down the hole in the ground, and I could see a small ladder that led down to the bottom.

"Ladies first." and he motioned for me to head down, while he kept the flashlight on the bottom so that I could see. I reached the bottom, and stepped out of the way so that he could head down behind me. Once he was down, he shone the flashlight to the back of the space. It was basically a big dirt hole, with some support beams. I turned back to him, and he gestured for me to look back up at the hatch. He closed it, and then pulled on a small piece of rope that went through the edge of the hatch.

"This pulls the artificial dirt cover back over the hatch, so it practically becomes invisible."

I looked around, "Aww Eric, you built me my very own little hidey hole!" and we both laughed. "Did you really do all this in a week?" I asked, but then realized I was asking a vampire. Of course he did this in only a week.

"It didn't take long. I built it so that if anything happens to me, you can hide down here."

The thought of something happening to Eric sent a chill down my spine. I went over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "Don't say that."

"I just want to make sure you are safe my love." and he wrapped his arms around me. "Sookie, you must promise me something."

"Anything." I said, but didn't really mean it. It depended on what he was asking, and if it was what I think he was going to ask, he could forget it.

"If something happens to me, I don't want you to come after me. I want you to hide. Down here at first, and once you are able to get away, I want you to run. Go anywhere except back to your home. There is money and travel documents you can use in the top drawer of my nightstand. I will be fine with whatever happens to me as long as I know you are safe."

Yep, exactly what I was expecting. But I wasn't about to get in an argument with him about this, when regardless of what he said, I would do whatever it took to save him.

"Do you promise?"

"Yes. I promise." and I crossed my fingers behind his back.

We headed back up the little ladder, me first, and before Eric came up, he left the flashlight down there for me, in case I ever needed it.

We went back in the house, and he had me make him a list of what we needed. Without having to look, I knew exactly what we needed, and had a list ready for him within a few minutes.

He gave me a hug and kiss before he left, and told me he would be back as quickly as he could. I got the same instruct that I got the first time he went out for supplies, except this time I took it much more seriously. This time, the door was locked the moment he stepped outside.

As soon as I heard him leave, I got nervous. My senses were on red alert. Every single little noise had me on edge. About an hour went by, and Eric still wasn't back.

Calm down, calm down Sookie, I repeated to myself internally. He was gone almost two hours last time. But he had much more to get last time. This time shouldn't take as long. If I compared the amount of time it took him the first time compared to the amount of items on the list, and looked at what was on there this time, plus the amount of time he was gone equaled I was starting to freak out. He should have been back by now.

I heard a noise on the porch, and ran into the kitchen, ready to bolt out the back door. The knob jiggled, and I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. Eric walked in. I about collapsed. He must have seen me faltering, dropped the bags, and ran over me, and caught me as I was going down.


	15. Chapter 19

**Last one for the night. :) INSERT M RATING HERE!  
**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters, and I love her to bits.**

**Night everyone! Going to get back to work finishing the darn thing!**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

I must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing I knew, I was laying on the couch, with Eric hovering over me, patting me on my cheek.

"Sookie. Sookie, please, open your eyes." so I did. "Sookie, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Oh Eric, I was so scared. I thought you were someone else, Victor, or someone, coming to get me. I got so worked up, I guess the rush of relief when I saw it was you was just to much."

I could tell he was trying not to laugh at me now. I scowled at him. "It's not funny." I said, and that was enough to tip him over the edge. He let out a roar of laughter, and I smacked him on the arm. I started to get up, and he pushed me gently back down.

"I'm sorry. You're right, it's not funny. I'm sorry I scared you."

Well, it actually was kind of funny that I fainted, but I had been really scared. I don't know if I could take this again. The next time he went out, I was going with him whether he liked it or not.

"I'm fine, you can let me up." but he didn't remove his grip on me. Instead, he leaned in, and kissed me, deep and hard. Nothing like a little excitement to get Eric in the mood. And these days, although we were in hiding, things had been pretty dull. My little fainting spell was the most excitement (aside from our love making sessions, those were always exciting) that we had experienced since the first night he went to the grocery store.

I hadn't seen this Eric since we had been here. The rough, and I mean rough, passionate Eric. I came up for air at one point, and said "Bed." Eric stood up, and pulled me to my feet. I started to walk in the direction of the bedroom, and Eric checked the front and back door to make sure they were locked. I had stopped at the entrance to the hallway to wait for him. He had done the front door first, and then checked the back. I was waiting for him to come walking around the corner, but he didn't. Instead, he jumped out from behind the wall, and gave me a little growl, with one of his eyebrow's raised. I giggled, and screamed a little in delight, and ran towards the bedroom. Eric chased after me. I had just made it to the outer door when he caught me.

He had come up behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him with my back still to him. He had his left arm around my waist, and started to move his right hand up my body, and under my top. He got to my breasts and squeezed. I leaned my hips back into his body, and he shoved forward a little, and I could feel that he was VERY much in the mood. He slid his hand out from under my top, and then grabbed the bottom of my top, and I helped him peel it off me.

His hand worked it's way back up my body, and he stopped at my neck and gripped there, just under my chin. He thrust against my backside again, and started to kiss my neck. I could feel that his fangs were out, and just grazing my skin. He turned me around so that we were facing each other, and he pushed us back into the door. He started to rub his body against mine more rhythmically, and wrapped his left arm around me again to pull me back closer to him. His right hand moved from the front of my neck to the back, and he slid it up to grab my hair. He gave it a little tug so that my face angled up towards his, and he started back in on my neck. I reached behind us to open the door, and we stumbled into the little closet room that separated the bedroom from the hallway. We didn't make it any further than that.

He shut the outer door behind us, and it was pitch black. It was a little awkward for me at first, because I couldn't see anything, but then it felt exciting. I'm sure that he could probably see a little, but from what I could tell, it wasn't much at all. Everything we were doing was based off touch, and that is exactly what we did. We started to touch each other everywhere. I found my way to the bottom of his shirt and took it off him. Then I went for his belt, and jeans. He went for my bra next. Eric was going commando, but I still had my panties on. Eric got on his knees in front of me, and I could feel him start to pull them down with his teeth. He slid them the rest of the way off with his hands, and once he had reached the floor, he put his hands at my ankles, and slowly slid them back up the length of my body. I was so, so hot for him right now. I felt for him in the dark, and grabbed his shoulder, and motioned for him to come back to me face to face.

Once he was standing again, he picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He slid right in, and backed me against the wall. This time, he was going full force. I was worried I was going to get pushed through the drywall into the linen closet. He lowered his head and found my breasts and started to kiss and suck. The feeling of his fangs scraping my nipples always sent a little shiver below, and made me gasp.

Eric was like a wild man. Neither of us was saying anything. He was growling every now and then, and that just turned me on even more. I was getting closer, closer, almost there, and Eric stopped, and put me down.

"Turn around." and before I had a chance to respond, he did it for me. I braced my hands against the wall, and he entered me again. He put his left hand under my chin to pull me back towards him, and I arched my back. With his other hand, he started to move it lower and lower down my body, until he was rubbing me in just the right spot with his fingers. It didn't take me long in this position to get right back to where I had been before we ended up this way. I know that I started to moan, and I could tell it was getting louder and louder. This seemed to excite Eric, and he started to go harder and deeper. I let out a scream when I reached the end, and Eric hit at the same time. He said something, the same thing he usually said, in that language that had been lost for a thousand years, that only Eric probably spoke anymore. My legs turned to jello, and I started to go down. Eric caught me, and held me up. If he actually had to breath, I would have described him as being out of breath. Instead, he just seemed to be in a daze.

"Lover." he whispered to me, and picked me up. He opened the door that led to the bedroom, and laid me on the bed. I was exhausted. He got into bed next to me, and I scooted over to curl up next to him. He hugged me close to him, and I traced a finger around his chest. Not long after, I fell asleep, and didn't wake up to the next night.


	16. Chapter 20

**Hey everyone. Thanks for reading.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Please don't sue.  
**

* * *

A few more uneventful days went by. Eric pretty much had doing laundry down, so we moved on to cooking. Not that he needed to eat, but I figured it was a good skill to have anyways. What if he wanted to cook me dinner? Which is exactly what I told him, and hoped that he would get the hint.

I showed him the basics, how to boil water, make eggs, how to cook different kinds of meats, and how to tell when they were done so he wouldn't get me, or whomever else he was cooking for, sick. You know, the basics.

"Darn it, we're out milk. Oh well, no Mac and Cheese." Crap! I hit myself on the forehead with my palm as soon as I finished my sentence. Stupid stupid stupid move Sookie! Now he's going to want to go to the store. And sure enough…

"I can go get some if you need it."

"No, no. It's fine. We can just make something else."

"Sookie, if we are out of something, I can run and get it for you. You don't have to be scared."

"Well, it just seems like it's a waste of a trip for one little thing. Really, Eric, we can make something else, and save the Mac and Cheese for another night." I hoped that worked.

He thought about it for a second, and then seemed to agree. But then he walked around to see what else was in the fridge that we could make, and noticed something I had not.

"I only have one bottle of True Blood left. I need to go for that Sookie, even if it is just one thing, it's one very important thing."

"Well, why don't you just drink my blood instead?" I was willing to do anything to not have him leave again. "You don't need much of it if it's real blood, right? I don't mind, Eric, really I don't." And I really didn't as long as he didn't leave.

He looked down at me. "Lover, are you sure?"

I tried to look as convincing as possible. "Yep."

He nodded. Wow, that was easy.

We finished making dinner, I had spaghetti instead. When I was done, I got started on the dishes. Eric said he was going to light a fire for us in the living room. I just figured he was trying to get out of doing the dishes, but it was okay, cause a fire and a movie sounded good right now.

I finished up and walked out into the living room, and Eric wasn't there. Hmm. I walked back to the bathroom, then our bedroom, then the guest room. Oh no. I went back out to the living room, and on the table by the front door, there was a note.

_Lover,_

_I went to the store. I will be back shortly._

_E_

"Damnit!" I yelled, and crumpled up the note. I made sure the door was locked, and sat on the couch. He was going go get an earful when he got back. I couldn't believe he had just left. Why didn't I see this coming? He agreed to taking my blood to easily, and darn him, I didn't make him promise not to go. So now, he technically hadn't lied to me.

I sulked on the couch for a bit. My senses were on high alert again. I watched the clock. Pretty soon, an hour had passed, and still no Eric. He would have just been going for True Blood, and milk. This was taking to long.

Another hour passed, and I was petrified. I had gone to the kitchen thirty minutes earlier and grabbed a knife, and was now hunched down by the front door listening for anything. A sign that Eric was back, or, God help me, Victor, or someone associated with him.

Another hour passed, and I was freaking out. Something had for sure happened, and at this point, I was waiting for either an attack or dawn, which was due in two hours. And then I heard a noise. It was footsteps, and I could tell it wasn't Eric, but it was a vampire.


	17. Chapter 21

**This is going to be it for the night. It was a rough day.**

**As far as this chapter goes, all's I ask is that you keep an open mind, and be assured, there is a method to the madness in this chapter.**

**Charlaine Harris is the Jay to my Silent Bob. She owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

I did what he said, and I ran. As quietly as I could, I ran through the kitchen, and out the back door. I ran through the woods to the spot where Eric had built my hidey hole. I pushed back the bits of dirt and debris that was covering the cloth over the trap door. I pulled that back, swung open the hatch, and started down the ladder. I closed the trap behind me, and pulled the rope to cover the door.

It was pitch black. I fumbled around for the flashlight, but once I found it, decided to leave it off in case it could be seen from outside. I did my best to slow my breathing down, and stay calm. If I freaked out, I would be found. I started to slowly step backwards until my back bumped the dirt wall at the other end of the hidey hole. I slid down the wall until I was seated. I couldn't hear a thing. It was the most horrible silence ever.

Well, my attempted kidnapper was vampire. I didn't sense that they had brought any humans with them. The last time I looked at the clock, it was about two hours until dawn. Hopefully I wouldn't be found, and at dawn, it would be safe to go back to the house.

Time seemed to be passing so slowly. It felt like I had been down there for an eternity. I was starting to feel calmer, as I hadn't been found yet, and quite a bit of time had passed, from what I could tell, but I still didn't move. About an hour later, I saw a speck of light start to shine through from where the hatch was. I figured I would wait another thirty minutes before I got out, to make sure the sun was up enough that any vampire after me would have gone to sleep, and any human that may be returning to take their place would show up, and I would be able to hear them with my gift.

After what seemed like thirty minutes had passed, and more light was now starting to show through the hatch, I decided now was as good a time as any to get going. The more daylight I gave myself, the further I would be able to get from here, wherever here was. I got up and crept over to the side of the hidey hole with the ladder and the hatch. I waited a minute to see if I could hear (or "hear") anyone. So far, so good, I couldn't hear a thing. I crept up the ladder, and waited another minute before I opened the hatch. I took a look around before I climbed all the way out. I still couldn't hear anyone with either of my hearing senses. Slowly, I headed back for the house, knife still in hand.

When I got back, I nearly broke down. The cabin had been torn up. There were things thrown everywhere. It was a mess. I ran back to our room, and slowly opened the outer door, then shut it behind me. I took a deep breath before I opened the inner door. The room had also been destroyed, and there was no Eric. I know it was a long shot, that he might have come back after all this had happened, and what if it was so close to dawn, he had to go to sleep? Like I said, long shot, but stranger things had happened.

I went to his nightstand, and it was turned on it's side. I was expecting that the items he had told me would be there would be gone, but they weren't. I grabbed the money, wow, it was a lot of money, and the travel documents. I didn't stop to look at them, and shoved them in my jean pockets. I had a lot to do, and little time. I left the room, and headed over to my room from when we originally started staying here. It had also been practically destroyed. My clothes were strewn all over the place. I found small bag that I had used to pack my bathroom stuff, and picked through my clothes until I had found a complete change of clothes to bring with me.

Next I headed to the bathroom, and washed up quickly in the sink. I was dirty from the hidey hole. Next, I headed to the kitchen. Since I didn't know how far out into the woods that I was, I grabbed some water and snacks and put them in my bag. I took the money and documents from my pockets, and paused a moment to check them out. There was around three thousand dollars, almost completely in hundred dollar bills. The documents consisted of a passport, birth certificate, social security card, credit card, and plane ticket which was good for the next year, with a new name for myself. Wow, Eric must have been planning for an emergency for quite a while.

I shoved the items into my bag, but kept some of the cash in my pocket, just in case my bag and I got separated. I grabbed the knife that I had been carrying around with me since I ran from the house, and headed to the front door. It was wide open, and there was a note stuck to it.

_Ms. Stackhouse,_

_You have 5 days._

_Victor_

I dropped my bag, and screamed. It was short and sweet, and the most terrifying thing I had ever read. I knew what he meant without an explanation. I know I had promised Eric I would run, not come back, stay as far away from Victor and Felipe as possible, but I just couldn't do it.

I walked out the front door, and looked around. There wasn't really much of anything except for forest. I walked a little ways south, and made my way to a small clearing. I took another look around me, and saw that there were mountains to the north. Hmm, we weren't south of Bon Temps, it only took us a few hours to get here at Eric speed, and there were mountains to the north. We were in Arkansas. I figured if I walked east, I should hit a highway, or Little Rock. I wonder if that was where Eric had been doing his shopping? Big city, hustle and bustle, he wouldn't stand out as much. Well, east it is, and I set off.


	18. Chapter 22

**Sorry this is late today.. well, technically, it's tomorrow now.**

**Went to Disneyland after work instead of going home and posting. Can you blame me? :)**

**Anyway, we are getting close to the end of what I originally called "Untitled Sookie Stackhouse Story, Part 1" when I printed this out and gave it to my bestie. I'm about 75 pages into Part 2 now, and it's almost done.**

**Thanks again for all the love. It makes me happy, and keeps me motivated to finally finish this thing.**

**Charlaine Harris owns all the characters and whatnot**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

I walked for around 2 hours. I was exhausted, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep moving, and get as far away from the cabin as I could, and find a good place to hide for the evening. I continued walking, and only stopped once for a quick snack and a drink of water when I figured it was about noon, judging on the sun's position in the sky.

I felt like I was really covering some ground. I wasn't a sporty girl, and I wouldn't exactly say I had great endurance, but I found it was amazing what drive will do to you when someone you care about was in danger. I was willing to do just about anything to save Eric. After a while, I wasn't even tired anymore. I found that if I focused on getting to Eric, I walked a little faster, and I didn't feel as tired as I should have.

I walked all day, and was still in the woods by the time the sun was starting to set. I hadn't really found a safe place to hide, so I started to build myself something. It was no _Man Vs. Wild_, believe me, but it was shelter. I basically had some pine tree branches propped up like a teepee, with enough room for me to ball up on the inside. I used my bag as a pillow, minus the spare sweatshirt I had packed so that I could use it as a semi-cover. It was starting to get cold, and dark. I took the knife that I had brought with me, and clutched it to my body as I curled up in my pine teepee. I was to scared to sleep at first, but pretty soon, exhaustion got the best of me, and I was out.

The sun rising woke me up in the morning. I took a look around, and realized that I had made it through the night. I wanted to make sure to walk as far as I could today, and hoped that I would find civilization soon. I packed up my things, destroyed the evidence of my little sleeping spot, and headed back on my way.

My wish for civilization was granted just before noon. I started to come across homes, and then little residential areas, and then I was walking into a city. I walked into a local business to use their restroom, and asked the person behind the counter what city I was in. They looked at me like I was crazy, but told me I was in Little Rock. Well, that was easy. I felt pretty proud of myself for figuring out our approximate location.

They gave me the key to the restroom, and pointed me to the back of the store, past where customers were normally allowed. I went in, and got a look at myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. I had washed my face quickly before I left the cabin the day before, but wow, what a day of hiking and a night on the ground could do to you. I washed up as best as I could, changed my clothes, and headed back out to the front of the store. I handed the key back, and asked if I could use their phone. The clerk asked me if I was alright, and I told them I was, just desperate to get back home, but the call would resolve that for me. They handed me their phone, and stepped away from the counter to give me some privacy I guess. Either that, or they just didn't want to get involved more than they had.

I picked up the receiver, but then stopped. Who the heck was I going to call? I didn't want to call Jason or Sam to come get me, because they might be under surveillance now by Victor, or at least whomever his day person was. He probably had goons out looking for me, or watching my friends and family for a sign of my return or contact. I had to think of someone that Victor probably didn't know. I thought about calling Bobby; Eric's day man, but then he would most surely be under watch if that was what was going on back home. Gosh, when did I get so paranoid? Oh, I remember, when I had to run for my life, and spend a day and a half trekking through the woods, that's when. Oh, I know exactly who to call.

He picked up after two rings.

"Claude, it's Sookie."

"Sookie?"

"Claude, is it safe to talk to you?"

"Uh, yeah." he said, sounding totally confused.

The tone of his answer told me it was safe. "Claude listen, I need your help." and I explained to him as quickly and to the point as possible about what had happened, and by the end of the call, I was sobbing on the phone.

"Where are you? I'll come get you."

I looked around the counter I was at, and found a business card for the place I was in. I read Claude the address, and told him I would be waiting outside the shop. He confirmed the address, and said he was leaving now, and would be here as quickly as he could, and we hung up.

Claude never seemed to like me before his sister Claudine died. Afterwards, he lived with me for a bit, and we ended up being friends, which was good, since he was family and all. Six months ago, I don't think he would have come for me if I had called him. But now, I had no doubt that he would. I walked over to the front of the shop where the clerk had gone, thanked them for their help, and left. I walked a little ways down the street until I found a coffee shop, and I went in to get something to eat. After that, I headed back down to the store I had called Claude from, sat on the curb, and waited.

I had some time on my hands, and started to think of a plan to save Eric. I needed to figure out first who was safe to talk to, and who wasn't. Not only would Pam probably be watched right now, but who knows who else. The other problem I had was to figure out who I could trust. Someone was a snitch to Victor, directly or indirectly, and I needed to find out who that was to, so I could kill them.

It took Claude about 3 hours to get to me, and I was so happy to see him. He started to get out of the car to greet me, but I told him we didn't have time, and I jumped in the passenger seat.

"Sookie, you are a mess right now."

"Don't remind me. But I know I can't look half as bad as I feel right now."

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, I was actually wondering if I could stay with you for a few days. I can't go home, and I can't go to Jason or anyone else that Victor might identify as a friend of mine. I don't think anyone would suspect you."

He thought about this for a moment, and then looked over at me and smiled. "Of course I'll help you Sookie. Besides, I wouldn't want anything to happen to Eric either you know." and he winked at me. Claude had the hot's for Eric, but then again, who didn't. He was gorgeous. He made me laugh with his wink.

"Anyway, aside from staying with you, could you do me another favor? I was wondering if you could go" I took a deep breath, "I was wondering if you could go to Fangtasia, and see if you can find Pam."

Claude looked like a deer in the headlights. "You want me to go where? Are you crazy Sookie! Do you know what could happen to me there?"

"I know, I know, but I can't think of any other way to get to Pam! I have to know if it's safe to talk to Pam, if she hasn't been taken as well. If she is still free, and not being watched, she is going to be my best ally in this Claude."

He let out a sigh, rolled his eyes, and mumbled something to himself. "Fine."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him in a whisper.

I told him about what I had planned out so far, for the most part. I left some details out that I didn't want anyone to know just yet, just in case. I slept for about an hour, and then by the time I woke up, we were just coming up on Shreveport. Claude took me to his home, which was in a suburb of Shreveport. It was just after dark.

We went inside his home, and I went for the bathroom. Before I did anything else, I needed a shower. When I emerged, I found Claude in the kitchen.

"Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to go see Pam." he said, and we went over what I wanted him to say to her. I gave him a hug before he left.

* * *

***BOOK 10 SPOILER BELOW*** YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

**All's I have to say here is that I had a HARD time writing Claude. I wrote and deleted this originally like 20 times. The bestie says it sort of sounds like him, but that I wrote him to nice. My view on it was "His and Sook's relationship changed at the end of book 10. Claude from 3 or 4 books ago, or even at the beginning of book 10 would have cuddled in bed with Sook, but look what happened there. So now that that's changed, this is how Claude spoke to me, when we were getting along at our best.  
**


	19. Chapter 23

**One more after this for the evening. More tomorrow, and I promise it will be earlier than midnight. ;)**

**Thanks again.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and all that good.. well, GREAT stuff.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

I went into Claude's living room to wait for him. I flipped on the television, but couldn't concentrate on it. I needed something to focus on, because thinking about Eric was driving me crazy, and I needed to stay calm. I finally gave up on trying to relax a little, and went into the kitchen. I was hungry, but I couldn't decide on anything to eat. I heard a car pull up in the driveway, and I peeked out the kitchen window to see if it was Claude. It was.

Another car pulled up, and I recognized it right away. It was Pam. Claude stayed in his car, but Pam got out and headed to the front door. She didn't seem upset or ready to attack, so I went out to meet her.

"Inside, now." she said and walked right past me. I followed her in. She stopped just inside the door, and I closed it behind me. She looked pissed, but I couldn't tell if it was at me. She stood there for a minute, and then hugged me. Guess she's not pissed at me then, good to know.

"I went looking for you at the cabin last night, but you had left. How did you get here?"

I told Pam what happened while we were out there, and told her about what happened the night Eric went missing and about my hiding space, and then my trek through the wilderness. Pam smiled when I was telling her the last part.

"Sookie, you are quite resourceful when you want to be."

"Listen, so tell me what's been going on around here. Have you seen Victor? His note, is he waiting for me to come to him? Do you know where Eric is? Have you heard from him at all?"

"Sookie, calm down, please." I had worked myself up into a frenzy, and realized the I had my hands on Pam's shoulders, and was gripping her as hard as I could. "First off, I have seen Victor. He told me that when you came back, to call him at this number. He gave this to me the night he took Eric. It was too late to go try to find you, so I had to wait until last night. I knew something was wrong when Victor came to me. I do not know where Eric is, but I have been searching places that I know Victor stays, and I have not heard from Eric either. Since Victor gave you a time frame, I'm assuming that he is going to use Eric as a bargaining chip. Victor probably assumes that if I saw you, I would turn you over to him to save my master. But I don't think Victor realizes that I fear what Eric would do to me if I turned you over."

I hadn't thought of that. I went right to Pam, but it never crossed my mind that she would trade me off for Eric. After all, what was I to Pam, really, with her maker in danger. I was nothing. Pam and Eric were closer than any vampire and their maker than I had met. They didn't resent each other, or fear each other. They worked well together.

"You don't mean that Pam." I said.

"Not exactly, but we still have three days to figure something out."

Well that sounded like I had three days to fix this, or she was turning me over to save Eric, whether he liked it or not. Well, I better get to work.

"Okay, so first thing I was thinking we could do is try to figure out who snitched to Victor in the first place. Maybe, whoever it is, will lead us in the right direction to finding where they're keeping Eric."

Pam nodded in agreement. "Who was aware of what you had done?"

"Well, obviously Amelia and Octavia, because they helped me, and I told Eric, who probably told you," She nodded her head that he had, "and other than that, I didn't say anything to anyone else. It was no one else's business."

"Perhaps you were being followed?"

"Well, if I had been, and they knew what I did, why didn't Victor just take me then?"

"Good point."

"Let me think. Amelia and Octavia would never rat me out to Victor. I don't think Octavia even knows him. I know Amelia knows of him, but with what happened when I was kidnapped, and Victor holding Eric so that he couldn't come find me, she hates him almost as much as we do."

Hmm, think Sookie! Did you say anything to anyone? Did someone overhear you telling Eric the news? Was there a bug in your house or something?

And then I remembered something. When I came home from Merlotte's, and Bill was waiting on my porch, he had asked if I was still with Eric. I hadn't given him a straight answer that night. But why would Bill rat us out to Victor? And how would he have known about the blood bond?

"Wait, I think I know Pam. It might have been Bill."

We ran out to Pam's car, and I waived goodbye to Claude as we did. He was still sitting in his car, and waived back. I saw him start to get out as we pulled away. Smart move on his part for sure, staying there so that Pam wouldn't try to eat him.

"Do you think it's safe to go to Bill's house?" I asked.

"I don't care really. I just know I'm going to kill him when we get there."

"No! You can't Pam! We need information from him. And I don't think he did it maliciously." (Thank you "Word of the Day" calendar.)

"I don't care why he did it, he's going to die."

"Pam, you're not killing Bill. If anything, I want to, but not until we have a chance to hear what he has to say." I wouldn't really kill Bill, but I was mad enough to think about it for a minute or twenty.

Pam smiled a little when I said I wanted to kill Bill, and didn't fight me on it again.

We got to Bill's and before I got out of the car, Pam did, and looked around for any signs of danger. She waved me out of the car once she had determined that the coast was clear. I got out, and we both went up to Bill's door. He wasn't really getting out yet, since his near final death experience. I knocked and called out to him. "Bill, Bill it's Sookie. I need to speak with you." I said it in a sweet tone so that I didn't spook him.

He came to the door after a minute. "Good evening Sookie. Pam."

"Bill, can we come in?"

He stepped aside, and opened his door a little wider so we could enter.

We came in, and he led us into his living room, Pam and I had a seat on his couch, and Bill sat across from us in a chair.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.

Pam and I looked at each other. "Bill," I started, "I need to ask you a few questions, and I need you to be completely honest with me."

He shifted in his chair a little, and then nodded for me to continue.

"Bill, did you say something to Victor about Eric and me?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean." he said, and he genuinely looked a little puzzled as to why I was asking that.

"Well, what I mean is, did you mention to Victor that you thought Eric and I were broken up?"

His body stayed still, but he put his head down. That was all the answer that I needed.

"Bill, why?"

"I went to Victor asking for approval to pursue you again. I saw you leave with a bag, headed in the opposite direction of Eric's one night. It was the night you went to New Orleans. I wanted to make sure you were alright, so I followed you. I stayed there until the next night, and went to check on you before I came back home. I heard you and Amelia speaking on her back porch. You were talking about the messages that Eric had sent you, and about breaking the blood bond that you shared with him. When I got back, I spoke with Victor about it, and asked if I could pursue a relationship with you again now that your blood bond to Eric was dissolved. I didn't know this was going to happen Sookie, I promise."

"You what? I, I, I don't know what to say, where to start. First of all, Victor has no say over who I do and don't date. Second, what right do you have to follow me like that, and spy on me! Third... I just don't know what to say Bill, I really don't."

"Sookie, you have to understand, you were with Eric, and Eric is my superior. In order to claim you back again, I needed to get permission from Eric's superior. I didn't know about the blood bond until I heard you and Amelia talking about it. I didn't know it was a big deal to anyone else if it was broken."

"What did Victor say when you told him about Eric and I being broken up, and me breaking our blood bond?"

"He didn't say much of anything, other than I had his approval."

"Bill, oh Bill. Do you realize what you did? Victor is after me now. Felipe wants me, in Las Vegas, to serve him. He couldn't before because of the blood bond, and because I was pledged to Eric. And now that Victor knows that we had broken up, and I broke the blood bond, it made our pledge null and void. So now Eric is missing, and they are coming after me Bill."

Bill was silent, he wasn't moving, and he hadn't raised his head back up either.

"Don't you have anything else to say?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Sookie. Is there anything I can do to help? Please, I will do anything to make this right."

I was furious now. Is there anything he can do to help? "Yes Bill, there is, you can stay out of my damn business." and with that, I got up, and started to leave, but Pam wasn't following me. I turned to her, "Pam, lets go."

She looked like she was ready to rip his head off, "PAM! We don't have time for this, every second counts. Is getting revenge more important than finding Eric?"

She looked at me then, and got up, and we left his house.

* * *

**The besties response to reading this chapter the first time around = "Of course you made Bill the bad guy."**

**What can I say... it's the truth. I wanna punch Bill in the face.**

**:(**

**And Alan Ball is an IDIOT for saying Bill and Sookie were soul mates.**

**I wanna punch him too for that.  
**

**But I won't do either... I bruise like a peach.  
**


	20. Chapter 24

**Last one for tonight.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

* * *

We were headed back to Shreveport after that.

"Sookie, you are smarter than I thought. Keeping Bill alive, to watch what happens, and have to suffer from this. Very smart Sookie, very smart. I can see why Eric likes you."

This made me laugh a little. "Pam, that wasn't my intention, but it's a good idea." I took a deep breath. "So, now what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure. I have people watching Victor for us, but so far, they have not been able to determine where he is keeping Eric."

"Do you think they brought him to Las Vegas, to lure me there?"

"I had a feeling they might try to do that, so I had some people placed in key positions at the airport. So far, there has been no activity to raise alarm. Eric is still here in Louisiana as far as I have been able to tell, I just don't know where."

"Well that's just great." I said, and crossed my arms in front of me. Well, now what? I still didn't want to call Jason or Sam and let them know I was back. I didn't want to ask Amelia for help and drag her into this, but I was running out of options. I didn't really have any to begin with anyways.

"Pam, do you think you could get us to New Orleans tonight?"

She checked the clock in her dash. "What's on your mind Sookie?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could ask Amelia for help. I mean, she's really good at her witch stuff, and maybe she could do something that could tell us where Eric is?"

She thought about it for a minute, and then looked at the clock again. "It's to late for me tonight, but I can get you a car to get yourself there, and I can meet up with you tomorrow night."

"Works for me. Can I borrow your cell phone?"

"That might not be a good idea, we can stop and use a pay phone."

She pulled off at the next exit on the highway, and we got to the nearest gas station. We both dug around for some change, and when I had the sixty-five cents that I needed to call Amelia, I hopped out of the car. Pam stayed behind.

I called her land line, it was the only one I knew by heart. It went to her answering machine, and I waited for the beep. "Amelia, it's Sookie. I hate to ask you this, but I need your help. I can't explain now, but I will. I'm headed for your place tonight, not sure exactly when I'm leaving, but it will be soon." I hung up the phone and ran back to Pam's car.

We headed back to Pam's house. She gave me the key to go inside, and told me to wait inside for her. She left on foot. About thirty minutes later, she returned with a car, a fast looking car.

"Pam, where did you get that?"

"I borrowed it." she said, and winked at me.

"You mean stole it. How am I supposed to get there in a stolen car Pam? What if I get pulled over?"

"Sookie, it's not stolen. I told you I borrowed it from a very nice young man who was more than willing to help out."

"Oh, you glamoured him." and I rubbed my hand on my forehead. In any other situation, I wouldn't have been doing this kind of stuff, but this was not any other situation. At least two lives were at stake here, and one of them was mine. "Well when did you tell him that he should expect it back?"

"In two days. He was agreeable to that time frame."

"I'm sure he was."

It was getting close to dawn, and I was almost to Amelia's. I normally don't drive to fast, I go the speed limit, look both ways, signal, all that stuff, but I didn't have time for that right now. I didn't care what happened, just so long as Amelia would help me out. I would give her anything she wanted, do anything she wanted, just so long as she helped me.

I pulled into her complex, threw the car in park, and ran for her front door. I knocked furiously, "Amelia, are you there? It's Sookie." I waited, and didn't hear anything. I ran around to the back, and over to the window to Amelia's bedroom. I tapped on it. "Amelia! Are you there? It's Sookie."

I heard her rouse, "Huh? Who's there?"

"It's Sookie, let me in. I'm at the back door." She came to her window and peeked out to see me. I smiled, and gestured over to the door. She stepped away from the window and disappeared, and a moment later, I heard the lock at the door turning, and she opened it for me. I ran over and went inside. She shut the door behind me.

"Sookie, what are you doing here? What's wrong?"

"I need your help. Sit down, you won't believe what's happened." and we sat at the table, and I started to explain everything that had happened since I had last seen her.


	21. Chapter 25

**Getting close to what I called the end to Part 1.**

**Thanks for the love.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Please don't sue.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

"Wow Sookie, I don't believe it."

"I told you. So now, I was wondering if there was some sort of a spell or something you could do to help us find Eric. I'm desperate. I only have 3 more days, and nothing to work with. We have no leads, no anything." and I realized then how quickly time was flying, and pretty soon, it would be the fifth day, and I had to have this done, completed, Eric found and safe, with me, before then.

"Sookie, of course I will help you. Let me call Octavia, and see what she can think of." She stopped to look at me, and then she sighed. "You know what your story was lacking?"

"What's that?"

"Sleep. Sookie, I will help you, but you have to do something for me right now."

"Anything. I will do anything you want. Name it."

"I want you to go take a shower. A long hot one. Then, I want you to borrow some of my pajamas, and sleep. I don't want you out of that guest room until I tell you you can come out. Understand?"

"But what if you need my help with something? What if something happens? What if.." and she raised her and to stop me.

"Sookie, if I need you, I will come get you. But right now, you need sleep, or you're going to be no good to anyone, not even Eric. How do you expect to help him if you pass out from exhaustion?"

She had a point. I got up from the table, stuck my tongue out at her, and she smiled and giggled a little. "Good night Sookie."

I got in the shower, and put it as hot as I could handle it. It felt wonderful. I just stood there for a while, and let the water beat down on my shoulders and the back of my neck. When I was done, I went into the guest room, and found that Amelia had laid out some pajamas for me. I changed, and got into bed. I thought I would never be able to sleep, but I was out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I didn't dream, thank goodness. I had been scared to sleep this whole time, because I didn't want to have a nightmare about Eric. The things that I was thinking about while I was awake were bad enough. I woke up with Amelia standing over me, saying my name.

"Sookie, good you're awake. Girl, you must have been tired, I've been trying for five minutes to get you to wake up."

"I haven't really slept the last three days."

"I wanted to let you know that we might have something. Come on, get up." she pointed to the dresser, "Here, you can wear these." She had laid out a fresh pair of clothes for me. Jeans and one of her tight little shirts. There was also a bag, and I discovered that Amelia had bought me a pair of socks, a bra, and underwear. I changed, and went out to the living room. Amelia was alone.

"Is anyone else coming?" I asked.

"Nope, just you and me this time. I don't need anyone else though for this one. Now, Octavia pointed me in the right direction, and said this has worked for her in the past, but she's never used it to locate a vampire, and she didn't know of anyone else who had tried to either. So we are the first we know of to try it."

"What do we need to do?"

"I need something of Eric's. Do you have anything on you?"

"Well, I have some of his money, he left it for me in case something happened to him."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, I don't have anything on me that was his alone." I could almost cry right now. Why didn't I think of this before I left. Last time she needed his photo, so why did I think this time I could just drive all the way out here without being prepared?

"WAIT!" I yelled, and ran back to the guest room. I grabbed the sweatshirt that I had been wearing, and ran back out to the living room. "This is Eric's. I'm usually the one who wears it, but Jason bought it for him when he had amnesia. He hates it, but it's nice and warm, so I wear it sometimes. But technically, it's Eric's."

"That works for me." and she took the sweatshirt from me. She had me follow her out to the patio, and there, I found that she had laid a map of the United States out on the ground. There was also a metal bucket, and a circle of salt, just like before.

"Sookie, sit over there. Don't enter the circle. I'm going to burn his sweatshirt, and if it works, his location should burn itself on the map. I will read it out to you if it does, and you write it down." She pointed to the table that was with her lawn furniture, and there was a piece of paper and a pen.

Amelia stepped into the circle, did a prayer to a mother or someone, and then started to read from a book. She read a few sentences, and then bent down, and lit his sweatshirt on fire in the bucket that she had with her in the circle. I grabbed the pen and paper, and went to stand by the edge of the circle. Amelia put her hand out to stop me. We waited a moment, nothing was happening.

Another few minutes passed, and still nothing. By now, the sweatshirt was almost completely burnt. I lowered my head, and I could feel tears getting ready to spill from my eyes, and then Amelia spoke.

"Sookie, look!"

The map started to smolder, and then burn.

"What's it spelling?" I asked, standing on my tip toes just at the edge of the circle, pen and paper ready to go.

"Shh, wait." Amelia replied. The map burnt a little more. "It says Centuries Memorial Cemetery. Do you know where that is?"

I wrote it down. "I don't, but we could look it up online right."

"Yep, sure can!" she said what sounded like another prayer, and then stepped out of the circle. We went inside and she sat down at her computer. She pulled up Google, and typed in the name. The first hit was for a cemetery in Shreveport. She pulled up a map of it's location.

"I know how to get there!" I yelled, and was almost running out the door.

"Sookie, wait!" she called after me.

I ran back in, and gave Amelia a giant hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" and I started to leave again, but she stopped me.

"Sookie, don't go running off to the cemetery right now. It's gonna be dark by the time you get back, and if that's where Victor is keeping Eric, he will be there too. You can't just run there with no plan. You will get yourself killed."

"Don't worry, I will be fine. Listen, can you do one last thing for me. Can you call Pam's cell phone, and tell her that you got her message, and you think you can help her out and work a shift at Fangtasia, and you are on your way back now and she should stay put. That way, she should know it's from me. She was going to meet me out here if this took longer."

"No problem. Sookie! Be careful!" she called after me. I was already out the door, and in the borrowed car.

I raced back to Pam's house. I did a circle of her block before I parked, to see if anything looked suspicious. It was just after nine at night when I arrived. I jumped out of the car, and ran to her front door. She opened it just as I was about to leap up the step that started the little porch in front of her house, and yelled, "Run Sookie!" and then someone behind her threw a silver chain around her neck. "I will be fine Sookie, just run!" and then she let out a scream of pain.

I had frozen in my tracks, turned, and started to run back to the car. I didn't make it. A hand reached out, and grabbed my ponytail, and I got jerked to a stop, and fell flat on my back. It knocked the wind out of me. I laid on the ground for a moment, coughing and gasping for air. I was finally able to open my eyes, and I saw Victor standing over me.

* * *

**The cemetery is a real place in Shreveport, LA. I Googled it.  
**

**I'm taking a cross country road trip next year, and plan on stopping there, just cause. ;)  
**


	22. Chapter 26

**One more after this.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

"Ms. Stackhouse, how nice to see you." he said with a smile.

"Wish I could say the same." I said back. This didn't amuse him however. He reached down and grabbed my ponytail again, and started to lift. I had no choice but to go with it. He got me on my feet, but was still holding on to my ponytail. He yanked it so that my head was closer to his, and turned sideways, then he whispered into my ear.

"Do not disrespect me woman. I am the one in charge here, I have what you want, and if you want to see it again, you would do best to obey me. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I whispered back.

"Rolf, bring the progeny." he said back in the direction of the house, "I think it's time we left."

He pulled out his cell phone, hit a speed dial number, and said he was ready, and then hung up. A moment later, a long black limousine turned the corner, and parked behind where I had parked my borrowed car. The driver got out, and came around to open the back door for us. Victor started walking towards the car, and, still gripping my ponytail, took me with him. His goon, Rolf, followed with Pam, who was still being restrained with the silver chain around her neck. Victor threw me into the limo, head first, and then got in after me. Pam followed, and then Rolf, who shut the door behind him. I crawled into the seat that was on the driver end of the limo, and Pam crawled next to me, still wrapped in the silver chain. I couldn't look at her, at what the silver was doing to her. Her skin was smoldering under the chain, and she was obviously in agony. Once the door had shut, the driver had started the trip back to what I figured was the cemetery Eric was at.

I looked up at Victor, who was sitting on the seat at the back of the limo. "Please, can you at least take the chain off Pam? It's me you want anyway, don't torture her, she didn't do anything wrong."

"On the contrary, she disobeyed a direct order from me to report your return." she said.

"She didn't know I was back until just now, really, she didn't." I pleaded with him.

"Ms. Stackhouse, do not lie to me. I do not appreciate being lied to. Now, would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"No, thank you." What a nut! "Where are we headed?" but I had a feeling I knew the answer to that.

"Oh, just making a pit stop before we head to the airport, then you and I and Rolf here will be headed to Las Vegas. Have you even been to Las Vegas Ms. Stackhouse?"

"No, can't say that I have, or that I want to, so thank you for the offer, but I think I will have to decline. Now, if you could just let me out at the next light," I said, but didn't get to finish, because Victor started to laugh.

"Oh, Ms. Stackhouse, I'm afraid you don't have a choice in this matter. Now why don't you just sit back, and relax. We have quite a bit of traveling ahead of us."

I wanted to say more, but with his last sentence, he went from laughing to dead serious. It was probably best right now, not to make him more upset than he already appeared to be. I sat back, and was silent the rest of the way to the cemetery.

When we got there, the limo stopped at the front gate. Rolf the goon, who was also a vampire, got out of the car, and I watched him walk around to the gate, pull a key from his pocket, and unlock it to let us in. The limo pulled through, and Rolf shut the gate behind him, locked it again, and got back in the limo. We drove through to the back of the cemetery. I could see it faintly through the tinted windows, and could see the graves go from modern, to civil war period. There were mausoleums at the very back of the cemetery, and we parked in front of one.

"Ah, we're here." Victor said, and his smile had returned to his face. Rolf opened the door back up, grabbed the leash that was attached to the silver chain around Pam's neck, and pulled on it to coax her out of the limo. Victor slid to the door, and motioned for me to follow him.

I stepped out of the limo, and Rolf was leading Pam into the mausoleum that we had parked in front of. Victor took my elbow in his hand, and started to lead me in the same direction. We walked inside, and Rolf slid open one of the crypts that was to the back left. He grabbed Pam, and tossed her in. I heard her hit the bottom with a thud, and Rolf jumped in behind her. Victor led me to the edge of it, and motioned his hand down the crypt. "After you Ms. Stackhouse."

I could see there was a ladder that led down to the bottom, and I climbed up on the edge of the crypt, over the edge, and headed down the ladder. Victor followed me, and once we were all at the bottom, he took my elbow again in his hand, and then took the lead. We went down a dark hallway, and there was practically no light. I was tripping over, well, I don't know what I was tripping over, and I didn't want to know. Victor kept a strong enough grip on me that I didn't fall over when I tripped. Rolf followed us with Pam, but I couldn't see them, I could only hear them, and smell Pam's burning flesh. We got to the end of the hallway, and Victor pushed open a door. This let into a room that was dimly lit. In the far left corner was a table, with Eric strapped to it with silver chains. He was on his back, and didn't look like he could move.

The second I saw him, I ran over to him. He was tied down by the wrists and ankles. He was only clothed the jeans that he had been wearing the night that he went missing. He looked over at me once I was standing over him. I wanted to touch him, but he looked like he was in so much pain, I was afraid too.

"Oh Eric, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said, and tears started to run down my cheeks.

He looked relieved and pissed to see me all at the same time. "Sookie, what are you doing here? I told you to run if something happened to me."

I reached out to touch his cheek, and he turned his head to meet my hand. "I couldn't. I just couldn't." I said, tears still streaming down my face.

Victor walked over to us then, and put his hand on my shoulder. Eric growled at that, "Get your hands off her Madden."

"Oh, come now Mr. Northman, I don't think you're in any position to tell me what I can and can't do, now are you. Now, Ms. Stackhouse here is going on a trip with me. Since it appears that you two have reconciled, I have brought her here to say goodbye. See, I'm not a complete monster!" he said, and laughed. Eric and I didn't find it funny.

"Are you going to have him killed once we leave?" I asked Victor, still staring at Eric.

He seemed to be thinking that one over for a minute, then replied, "Yes."

I turned to Victor, and looked him straight in the eye, "I want to make a deal with you. I will go willingly, and do whatever it is that Felipe wants from me, in return for Eric's safety. If I find out that he has met the true death, deal is off."

Eric interjected, "Sookie, don't do this." and I could hear the pain in his voice. I looked back at Eric for a moment, and red streaks were starting to trail down his face. I turned back to Victor.

He tilted his head to the side as he thought it over. "You will go willingly? You will follow orders, without question, for our King?"

"That's right, one hundred percent. But only if Eric, and Pam, are left alive. If they die, I will stop cooperating, and I will make sure that Felipe knows you have the knife. I understand that's of some value, correct? Something that, if you had it, you wouldn't want to just give up." When I mentioned the knife, Victor looked a bit shocked, which told me I had been right in thinking that he had the knife. I wasn't a hundred percent sure that he had it, but I had remembered Eric telling me he had taken it from him after we had been pledged. Since I knew Victor was a slime-ball, I figured that he had probably kept it for himself to use in some way to gain power or whatever else it was good for. I also figured it was in his best interest to not have to kill Eric or Pam. Felipe De Castro would question it for sure. Victor would probably try to cover it up, but better to not have it over his head at all right? I was taking a gamble, and it paid off.

"I suppose it would be entertaining to watch Eric suffering without you." and he seemed to be leaning towards accepting my deal. Eric could tell he was as well, and interjected again.

"Sookie, do not do this! Victor, don't listen to her. If you leave me alive, I will kill you, and anyone else who gets in my way in getting her back. I swear this to you!"

I put my hand over Eric's mouth, "Oh no you will not. You listen to me, I need you to promise me something." Eric shook his head no. "Yes, promise me Eric. Promise me you won't go after Victor, you won't hurt him, and you won't kill him, or anyone associated with him. And promise me you won't kill Bill. Pam can explain that, but you need to promise me Eric."

Eric closed his eyes, and more bloody tears were falling from them now. I took my hand away from his mouth. "Well?"

"I promise."

"Thank you. Now, Victor, do we have a deal?"

"How can I trust what he has promised?" Victor asked.

"Because he promised me, and he's never lied to me. If he tells me that he promises, I can guarantee you he will keep that promise." Even though I wished that he wouldn't, I knew that he had to, or we were all dead.

Victor thought about all this for another moment, and then did a slight bow to me, "Ms. Stackhouse, you have a deal."


	23. Chapter 27

**Last one for the night. This is how I originally ended "Part 1"**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters, except for one that I've added, that we will see more of.**

**Good night! Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

* * *

I took a deep breath, and nodded to Victor. "Now, before we go, can I have just another moment with Eric? After that, I will go with you willingly."

"I don't see why not. Do not be long Ms. Stackhouse, we have a plane to catch."

I shook my head, and Victor walked away. I turned back to Eric, and leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips and then I put my wrist to his mouth.

"Bite."

He looked up at me, "What? No, Sookie. You need your strength."

"I said bite, damnit, we don't have a lot of time. If you don't, I will tear my own skin open and force it."

Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, and exposed his fangs. I lowered my wrist to his lips, and he bit, and started to drink. When I started to feel a little light headed, I stopped him.

"I'm going to drink from you now. This way, you can at least feel that I make it safe to Vegas right? I don't know how long this will last, since it's just going to be this once, but I hope it's long enough." I leaned over his bare chest, and looked Eric in the face. He nodded, and I bit. I hated biting into him. He had me do it before, and it was disgusting. The feel of his flesh breaking was the worst part, and I tried to bite as hard as I could so that I could get this over with in one shot. I drank until I didn't feel lightheaded anymore.

Normally, this would have gotten Eric excited. He liked it when I drank his blood, but under the current circumstances, that wasn't going to happen. I left his chest, and put my face over his, and kissed him for all I was worth. Tears started to fall from my eyes again. Eric still had red tears streaming down his face.

I put my head on his neck, and did my best to hug him. I laid there for a few minutes, and then Victor called out to me from across the room that it was time to go. I lifted my head back up, and kissed Eric again.

"Sookie, I will come for you. I will get you back, I swear it."

I kissed him again, and again, and I just couldn't stop, I didn't want to leave.

"Ms. Stackhouse, your time is up, we must go." Victor called out again.

I stopped the kisses, and hovered over Eric's face. "Please tell Jason, Sam, Claude, and Amelia, but make sure they know I will be alright. I don't want them coming after me and getting killed. And I don't want you to either."

"I can't promise that." he said.

"Ms. Stackhouse, NOW!" Victor yelled, and started walking over to us.

I kissed Eric one last time, and I lingered there until I felt Victor grab my arm, and pull me away. Victor was leading us to the door, and I started to cry even worse. I turned back to look at Eric. He was struggling with the chains, trying to get up, but he couldn't.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be alright Eric." I yelled back at him.

Eric screamed in frustration just as Victor and I walked through the door, and back into the dark hallway. He led me through again, making sure I didn't fall each time that I tripped. Soon, I could see light ahead, and the ladder that we had climbed down on was just in front of us. He directed me back up, and out of the mausoleum. We got back into the limo, and headed out of the cemetery. I sat where I had been sitting when we had arrived, and stared out the window.

Victor broke the silence finally. "Ms. Stackhouse, I think you will enjoy Las Vegas. I have phoned ahead to Felipe, and he has arranged accommodations for you at a hotel he has an interest in. It's a suite. Quite lovely in fact. Right on the strip. Beautiful view."

I looked over at him for a moment, and then went back to staring out the window. It took us about thirty minutes to get to the airport. We drove out onto the runway, and stopped near an Anubus Airlines plane. Victor opened the door, and motioned for me to follow him. I stepped out, and Victor was already walking towards the hanger.

I followed him in. There was a coffin with the Anubus Airlines logo waiting for him. He spoke with one of the men who worked for the airline, and appeared to have several of his own men there as well who were already waiting for him. Two were vampires, and one was human. He was probably going to be my escort during the part of our trip that would take place during the day. I stayed back while they handled their business.

After a few minutes, Victor came back to me, and the human man with him followed.

"Sookie, this is Clark. He will be accompanying you on the plane."

I reached out and shook Clarks hand, and he shook back. "Nice to meet you Sookie." he said, and smiled, but I didn't.

One of the Anubus Airline workers came over, and told Victor that we were ready to depart. Victor acknowledged, said goodbye for now to me, and started to walk back to the hanger where his travel coffin was.

"Aren't you forgetting something Victor!" I yelled after him. He stopped and turned around to look at me. "You said you would take care of Eric and Pam."

"That I did Ms. Stackhouse." and he whipped out his cell phone and made a call. Probably to Rolf the goon. He spoke to him for a moment, and then hung up the phone. "Ms Stackhouse, they are being released as we speak. I have instructed Rolf to have Eric contact you in your room tomorrow evening when he wakes up, to verify this information. You will hold your end of the deal, correct?"

"Yes, I will, as long as I hear from Eric."

Victor nodded, and continued back to the hanger.

Clark cleared his throat, "Ma'am, I think it's time we board." and he stuck his arm out to direct me to the steps that led into the plane. I walked to the base of the stairs, took a deep breath, and got on the plane. Clark followed me, and we took a seat at the front. It appeared that we were going to be the only ones on the flight. After a few minutes, I could see the travel coffin being loaded onto the plane. The flight attendant shut the door, and went over the safety manual with us as we backed away from the hanger. I didn't really pay attention to any of it. I just kept staring out the window. We taxied down to the runway, and made our final turn. I could hear the engines start to roar, and we started to pick up speed, and in a moment we were in the air.

Clark, who had sat next to me, turned to me as soon as we were in the air, "I hate flying. Do you?"

I didn't respond, I just kept staring out the window as I watched the ground get further away, and all the buildings and lights get smaller, and I cried silently to myself as I left my home.

* * *

**That's it for the night. More tomorrow.**

**Promise.  
**


	24. Chapter 28

**Doing this quick tonight. I'm throwing a "Walking Dead" party in about thirty minutes.**

**Clark is all mine. Inspiration for his name came from the giant Gone With The Wind poster I have hanging above my computer.**

**Have I mentioned that it's been my fav movie since I was like 8, and I watch it at least once a month?**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, except for Clark. He's mine.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

We arrived in Vegas just after dawn, west coast time. I didn't speak with Clark the entire flight. Every now and then he tried to make chit chat with me, but I wasn't in the mood, obviously. Eric would be asleep by now, I thought to myself. Only about 9 more hours, and he would be awake. I would have to make sure to account for the time difference to make sure that I was in my room to take his call.

The plane landed, and we disembarked. Clark had some luggage with him, but I was not allowed that luxury. Not that I really would have had anything to pack anyways, as I had brought quite a bit of my clothes to the cabin, along with all my bathroom items. There was a limo waiting for Clark and myself, and there was a van waiting to take Victor, in his travel coffin, to wherever it was we were headed. I didn't really care.

Clark and I got in the limo, and left the airport. I still had not spoken. I had promised to be a good little worker for Felipe, but I didn't agree to be nice to anyone else, at least, as long as Felipe didn't order me to. I could see the Las Vegas strip approaching, but I didn't enjoy any of it. If I had been out here on vacation, that would have been one thing, and I would probably be saying how amazing it looked. But right now, it didn't look amazing, it looked like a prison.

We pulled up in front of a hotel called the Paris, and Clark motioned for me to exit the limo. He got his bag out of the back, and we headed in. We were in the casino section of the hotel, and Clark led me over to an escalator. I was happy to get out of the casino area as quickly as possible. It was smoky and loud, and I could see people having fun, and laughing, and that just depressed me.

We headed to a set of elevators, and got in. Clark hit the button for the penthouse, and swiped a card. We headed up to the top floor of the hotel, and once we got out of the elevator, headed down a hallway to room 2447. He swiped his card again at the door, and opened it for me. I walked in and looked around. Just through the door appeared to be the living room of the suite. It was huge. There was a gigantic couch that was shaped in a half circle, where part of it was facing the largest flat screen television I had ever seen, and the other half faced out the window that took up most of the wall. There was also a baby grand piano, a pool table, and a bar in the living room area.

Clark came in the room, and stepped in front of me, and offered to show me around. I didn't really acknowledge him at all, but I followed him. He led me to the left. We came across a small kitchen, that was set into the wall on my left side. We walked a little further and he opened up a door on the right hand side that led into the bathroom. If I had been talking, and in a better mood, I would have screamed. Everything was gold plated, or marble. There was a giant bathtub in the middle of the room, with a shower head above, one of those kind that make the water fall like your in the rain. The bathtub could have easily fit four or five people, and doubled as a spa. We walked back out of the bathroom, and he led me through another door, which turns out was the master bedroom. There was the biggest bed that I had ever seen, placed against the far wall in the middle of the room. There was another gigantic flat screen television, a fireplace, a couch, and a window on the far right that took up the entire wall. To the left of the room, there was a walk in closet that was about as big as my bedroom back home. Never in a million years would I ever be able to fill it with clothes.

Clark took a few minutes to show me how some of the things worked. The drapes on each window worked by remote control. Who in the world was so lazy that they couldn't walk over to the drapes and open them themselves?

"I think that's basically it Sookie. I'm going to head back to my room. I'm two floors down, room 2258. If you need anything, give me a call on the hotel phone." Clark said, and headed to the front door. "Oh, I almost forgot, there is a mall here in the hotel, and Felipe said you would need some clothes and stuff. There is also a general merch store here, where you can pick up anything else you may need." Clark reached in a small compartment on the outside of his luggage bag. He pulled out an envelope, and handed it to me. It was from Felipe. "Here, this should have what you will need to get whatever you want." and with that, he left.

I went over and sat on the massive couch, and opened up the envelope Clark had given me. Inside, there was a letter from Felipe, a credit card with my name on it, and a Nevada drivers liscens in my name, but using the picture that I had on my Louisiana one. It's not like they really had to much advanced warning that I was coming. I wondered if they had gotten this for me a while ago, expecting that I would be coming to stay with them at some point. I opened up the letter.

_Ms. Stackhouse,_

_I want to welcome you to Las Vegas personally tonight. Clark will be back to pick you up at 8pm. Please use the enclosed credit card to purchase anything you will need while you are here. The bill will be taken care of for you._

_Felipe_

For a moment, I thought about going nuts with the credit card, but then I realized that Felipe might not appreciate that, and I could get myself, or Eric, in trouble. I went into the bathroom, and decided that I should clean up as much as possible before I went out. I was still wearing the clothes that Amelia had let me borrow, and they were still relatively clean. I took a shower, and used the shampoo and conditioner that the hotel had in the room already. I got dressed again, and headed out.

I found my way to the front desk, and the woman there pointed me in the direction of the mall that was connected to the hotel. There were so many shops. I remember seeing the outside of the hotel when we came in, and couldn't believe that all this was located here. I found a few stores that offered just normal jeans and t-shirt clothing. I picked up about 10 change of clothes there, most of it shorts and tank tops, and a couple pairs of pajamas. I had asked the store clerk what the weather was normally like this time of year, and they laughed at me and said "HOT." I walked around a little more, and came across a dress shop, and decided to get a few dresses for different occasions. I got two cocktail dresses, an evening dress, and a few less fancy, everyday kind of dresses. Next, I stopped at a shoe store, and picked up a few heels to match the dresses that I had gotten, some flip flops and sandals, and a pair of running shoes, just in case.

The great part about all this shopping was that I could just have everything sent to my room. Which I just realized I wouldn't be able to get into. Clark didn't leave me that little card key thing. I headed over to the general store back near the lobby of the hotel, and picked everything I would need for the bathroom, along with a few snacks and a drink. I went back to the front desk, and they issued me a key for my room. When I got up there, my purchases were waiting for me, so I put them away in the closet. I put the bathroom stuff away, and then went back to the bedroom. I laid down on the right side of the bed, set the alarm clock to wake me up at two-thirty in the afternoon, and fell asleep. I didn't dream.

I woke up when the alarm went off, and than sat waiting for Eric's call. It would be sunset back in Louisiana pretty soon. I only had to wait about fifteen minutes before the phone in my room rang. I picked it up before the first ring was finished.

"Eric?"

"Lover." was all he said, and I started to cry. "Sookie, don't cry."

"I can't help it. I miss you. How are you?"

Eric started to yell at me, "How do you think I am!" he roared. "You disobeyed my orders to you to run. This is exactly why I told you to run. I didn't want to end up in this situation."

"But Victor was going to kill you Eric, I couldn't just let that happen! You would have done the same thing for me!"

Eric's yelling had ended my crying, and I was yelling back a little, but I could tell that he wasn't actually mad at me, which was good, because now I could tell the blood sharing that we had done before I left had worked. "Did Pam explain to you what happened while Victor had you?"

"Yes, she filled me in. I have not had a chance to see your brother or Sam, but I will go to them tonight. How is Felipe treating you?"

"Fine so far I guess. He has a day man for me, his name is Clark. Felipe had a credit card and Nevada ID waiting for me here, but it gets billed to him. I went out and got some new clothes and things today, then came back here to wait for your call. I'm meeting with Felipe later tonight, he says he wants to personally welcome me to Vegas, whatever that means."

"You will tell me if they mistreat you Sookie?"

"Yeah right, and have you go nuts and get yourself killed?"

"I am going to petition to come see you as soon as I can. I'm just waiting for Felipe to wake so that I can make the request." Eric said, and then we were both silent for a moment before Eric spoke again. "I will get you back Sookie, I will bring you back to your home. I promise."

I sighed, "Eric, I don't care if it takes you a week or a year to do it, just so long as you don't get yourself killed trying. Just promise me that."

He didn't exactly say promise, and it seemed like I wasn't going to get that out of him any time soon. I didn't want to spend the time that we had right now on fighting. He asked me about what happened, although he had heard what Pam had filled him in on, he wanted to hear my side of the story. I made sure not to leave anything out. I also told him about what happened when we got to the airport in Shreveport, and about the trip out here.

Eric told me about what had happened the night that he went missing. Victor had ambushed him in Little Rock, attacked him with silver chains.

"We can't do anything to rouse any suspicion Eric. This might be our best opportunity to get Victor. I'll know more once I meet with Felipe tonight I think. We can finally see what he's really like with this experience."

"I agree, even if I don't like the method."

"I'm just trying to find a positive in this situation. Felipe seemed to be positive at least that somehow I would end up out here, since he did have and ID waiting for me. But I'm not entirely convinced that he meant for it to be under these circumstances. Even if he doesn't know about them."

"I want you to find out as much as you can, without Felipe becoming suspicious." Eric said, and then was silent for a moment before he continued. "This really might be the best opportunity we have to get Victor out of the way."

"And if Felipe ends up being as ruthless as Victor?"

"We will focus on that if it comes to it. But for now, we need to find out who can be trusted, and how much Felipe is aware of, and how much he isn't."

We talked for about two hours. I finally convinced Eric to hang up, and told him that I would call him as soon as I was back from doing whatever it was Felipe had us doing tonight. He told me that he should be able to feel if my mood changed, and that I should make sure to bring it up to Felipe that I wanted to have him come visit as soon as possible, in case Felipe ignored his request.

After I hung up with Eric, I laid in bed for a while longer, and thought about ways to escape this mess, but nothing was coming to mind that would guarantee Eric and I getting out of this mess in one piece. At around seven p.m. I decided to start getting ready for my evening with Felipe. Since I didn't know what we were doing, and I wanted to make sure I was presentable to Felipe, make a good first impression as his new worker and all, I decided to wear one of the cocktail dresses that I had gotten. It was burgundy with a little sparkle to it, had spaghetti straps, and came down to just above my knee's. It was very form fitting, but didn't show off any of my flaws. I actually looked pretty damn good in it. I matched it with a pair of burgundy heels that had a similar sparkle and a black evening bag that I had picked up. I pinned my hair back with a rhinestone clip, and just as I was finishing fixing myself in the mirror, there was a knock at my door. I took a look out the peephole, and saw it was Clark.

I opened up the door for him, and since I was in a little better of a mood from talking to Eric, I spoke to him for the first time. "Good evening Clark." I said as I let him in to my suite.

He looked a little shocked that I had spoken to him, and I could tell by his thoughts that he thought I looked great now that I was cleaned up.

"Thanks, I thought so too." I said in response to his train of thought on the subject, and his face turned deep red.

"Oh, so it's true then? You can hear what I'm thinking?"

"Yep, all of it."

"I'm gonna have to remember to be careful tonight. You do look great though."

"Again, thank you. So where is it that I'm going with Felipe? I'm I dressed appropriate?"

"I'll say. I'm here to take you to his room. It's just down the hall. He doesn't stay there, but it's his to use whenever he needs to."

"Do you live here at the hotel?" I asked, curious if this was where Felipe put all his employee's up at.

"Yeah, but I don't have a suite like you. I have to admit, I was a little jealous at first, but with a gift like that, I can see why Felipe wanted to make sure you were well taken care of."

I made a mental note of that. Felipe was treating me well compared to others. Was it because of my gift? Did he want to make sure I was comfortable, and willing to work for him for a while? Or did he have other motives for keeping me well taken care of.

We stood there for a moment in silence, and then Clark started to speak again, "Listen, I know that you aren't exactly here by choice, but Felipe is a good boss. He treats us well, is willing to listen to any request that we have, and usually makes sure you have anything that you need. It's not so bad once you are used to it."

"Are you here by choice?" I asked, curious if he had something that Felipe had wanted, and found a way to take like he did with me.

"Yeah, I started out as his driver when they came out of the coffin a few years back, and worked my way up to being one of his day men. Now that you are here, he's assigned me to look after you."

"I see. Well, should we get going?" I asked, and Clark nodded, and stuck out his arm to escort me. I took his forearm, and out we went. We got to the elevator, and took it down to the same floor that Clark said he was on, but went to a different room. Clark knocked on the door, and then we stood there and waited for Felipe. He opened the door a moment later.


	25. Chapter 29

**One more after this.**

**Charlaine Harris owns them all but Clark. He's mine. **

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

"Mees. Stackhouse, how nice to see you. Please, come in." and he stepped back so that we could enter. Clark let me in first, and then he followed. Once inside, Felipe shut the door, and went over to the living room section of his room. It appeared that he did use a suite, but it was a definite downgrade from the room that I had. I wondered if Clarks room was set up the same.

Felipe pulled out a chair for me, and I took a seat. It appeared that Felipe had gotten room service for dinner. There was lobster and steamed vegetables for Clark and I for dinner, and Felipe had a bottle of True Blood on the table for himself. Felipe caught me looking at the bottle, "I don't normally drink this vile substance, but it was all that the hotel had in stock at the moment. They weren't expecting me. I won't hold et against them."

Felipe normally had a thick accent, it sounded Spanish, but since the last time I had seen him, he had done a pretty good job of adjusting to speaking English, and pronouncing his words without his Spanish accent. I commented on how American he was sounding.

"Thank you Mees. Stackhouse. Since I am now the ruler of two states, one of which is primarily English speaking, I thought it was best to learn your language and enunciate as well as I could. Now, how was your trip my dear?"

"Well, considering the circumstances, it went well I guess."

"That's nice to hear. I trust that Clark here has made sure that you got settled in properly? Is there anything that I may have forgotten to have him provide for you?" Felipe asked. I wasn't sure if this was a show to make me feel more comfortable, or if he was genuinely interested in how I was doing so far in his Nevada kingdom. I let him know that Clark had done a good job making sure I was settled, and at the same time, I listened in on Clark to see how he was feeling about the situation we were currently in.

Clarks thoughts were mostly on how delicious dinner was, but he did think about how good I looked, again, and was also pleased that Felipe and I seemed to be getting along. Nothing in there about Felipe acting strange, or putting on a show for me, which was good.

Felipe admired my dress over dinner, and asked about my shopping trip here at the hotel. I actually was a little surprised at myself at how much I had enjoyed it, since I had what seemed like an unlimited amount of money to spend, and could get whatever I wanted. And since it wasn't Eric or Bill paying the tab, I didn't really feel to guilty about what I spent. Felipe hadn't given me a limit, and although I didn't go overboard, I definatly spent more than if Eric or Bill would have taken me out like this.

Felipe talked about the city, and things that I had to do while I was here, shows that he recommended that I see, and Clark agreed with him. Felipe did most of the talking during dinner, and once we had finished, we had gone over to the couch where Clark enjoyed a cigar that Felipe had for him, and I sipped on a cup of tea that was brought up for me. I played nice at dinner, like I said I would. I wasn't sure if Felipe was completely buying it, but I made sure to laugh at his jokes, and to chime in on the conversation. When I felt like we had a pretty good communication line open, I asked about Eric coming to visit.

Felipe seemed a little offended that I was asking, and I wasn't sure why. He seemed to think about my request for a few minutes, then made his decision, "Mees. Stackhouse, I'm not sure that right now would be a good time for Meester. Northman to join you, even if it's just for a veesit. I would prefer if you got acclimated here first before you have any visitors. That is my ruling on the matter."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I tried desperately not to let them escape. "I understand. But may I ask, what do you think is an appropriate timeframe? When would be the soonest that Eric, or my brother could come to visit?"

Felipe must have already had a figure in his head, or made one up out of thin air, on a whim, but whichever it was, it was horrible. "Three months Mees. Stackhouse. That should give you enough time to get settled into this lifestyle." And with that, Felipe rose from his seat. "I think that is all for this evening Mees. Stackhouse. I don't have any need for you this evening, but I will this weekend. I will have Clark give you the details once it has been confirmed."

Clark stood up, and then helped me to my feet. We said good evening to Felipe, and left the room. The second we were in the elevator, I started to cry. Clark put his arm around me, and tried his best to comfort me. I could hear him thinking that I must be upset that this Eric guy couldn't come to visit. "I am." I said in response, and it seemed to shock him again that I had heard what he said. He thought about how he had forgotten to be careful about what he was thinking, and that he needed to try harder. "It's alright, most people don't. I usually just block it out, but I wasn't trying right now."

"I'm sorry about the three month thing, I really am. But hey, before you know it, the three months will be up, and you will get to see this Eric fellow. Now, looks like we have the rest of the night to ourselves, did you want to do anything? We can go down to the casino and do a little gambling, or maybe catch a show? Or do some sightseeing? The strip is beautiful at night."

I finished my crying with a little sob, and wiped my eyes. "I'm sorry Clark, I'm really just not in the mood for any of that right now. Maybe some other time, okay?"

"Sure, no problem. Just let me know if you ever decide that you want to do anything, and we can."

We got off on my floor, and Clark walked me to my door. He said goodnight as soon as I was inside, and he left. I ran into the bedroom, and saw the message light flashing. I checked, and it was from Eric. He was checking in, because he could feel that I was upset, and wanted to make sure I was alright, and to call him as soon as I got back. I hung up from the message, and called Eric.


	26. Chapter 30

**Last one.**

**Zombie time!**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot**

**But I own Clark. I may write something on him later now that I think about it.**

**Snoogans for the evening, and Snoochie Boochies.. and in honor of "The Walking Dead" and my affection for zombies...**

**BBBRRAAAIIINNNSSSS!  
**

* * *

"Lover, is everything alright?"

I started to cry again to myself, I could feel the tears running down my face. "Eric, I asked about you coming out here, and Felipe said not for three months."

Eric was silent for a moment, and then spoke. "I will see what I can do about that, don't worry Lover."

"I miss you so much Eric, I don't know how I'm going to be able to do this. I need you here with me." Crap, what am I saying, I'm just going to get him all worked up and then he's going to do something stupid. "Eric, please, try to follow his ruling on this. Three months isn't so long really. Besides, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' right?" I tried to change the subject. "So, did you get a chance to speak with Jason and Sam?"

"Yes."

"Well, what did you tell them?"

"I told them both that you were offered a job out in Nevada for Felipe. I did not tell them the truth on how this came to be, but told them that he had offered you a large sum of money, and agreed to leave you alone once your job was complete."

"Did they buy it?"

"Your brother did, and I gave him the number where you could be reached. I don't think Sam believed me, but he seemed to be able to tell that you would be alright, and didn't push me on the subject. He has also been given the number to reach you."

Eric must not have liked doing that. Sometimes I felt that he was a little jealous of Sam like Bill had been. But unlike Bill, Eric was man enough to understand that Sam and I were just friends, and would be nothing more.

I told Eric about the rest of what happened at dinner, and about Felipe needing to use me this weekend for something, and I would give him the details as soon as I knew them. After that, I asked Eric to tell me about how his night had gone so far, how Fangtasia was doing now that he was back, if Pam was feeling better, basically, I was just wanting him to have a normal conversation with me.

He spoke to me in a soothing voice, and pretty soon I was completely relaxed.

"Lover, you are exhausted. I will let you go to sleep. I will call you when I wake up tomorrow."

I didn't want to hang up with him, but I was exhausted. We told each other good night, and when we hung up, I went to the bathroom, changed into some pajamas, and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning around ten. I was starving, so I took out the room service menu, and ordered some eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee. After it came, and I ate, I decided to give Sam a call, since he was the one who didn't seem to believe Eric's story. I called over to Merlotte's first, but some new waitress, probably my replacement, said he wasn't there. I called over to his home, which was just out back from the bar, and he answered me there.

"Sookie, Jesus girl, it's good to hear your voice. Listen, Eric came over last night and tried.." and I stopped him there.

"Sam, look, I'm alright. Don't worry. Eric didn't tell you the complete truth, but that's cause I asked him not to. Sam…"

"Yeah Sook?"

"It sure is good to hear your voice too."

"Hey, are you in some kind of trouble? Are you sure you're alright? I could come get you or find a way to help you out of whatever he's gotten you into this time."

"Eric didn't cause this Sam, I did. And no, I don't think that there is much of anything anyone could do right now. But Sam, seriously, I'm fine. I'm here in Vegas. I've been set up in a suite at the Paris hotel, and it's gorgeous! You wouldn't believe it Sam. I've been given a credit card that I don't have to pay for, so that I don't want for anything while I'm here. Under the circumstances, it's not really to terrible I guess." I really hoped that he was believing me right now. Sure, on their own, those things sounded great, but the reality was, with how I came to have them, they were terrible.

"Sook, I just don't understand. One minute Eric is sending me a girl to temporarily take your place and the next, you're in Vegas. I had to hire someone to cover for you while you're gone."

"Sam, I don't expect you to hold my job for me, really. When I come back, I wouldn't feel right just taking it back. So, who is the new girl anyways? I called over to the bar, and she answered. Well, I figured it was her, I didn't recognize the voice."

"Yeah, her name is Katie. She's nice. Picked up the job pretty quick. But she is no Sookie Stackhouse, I tell you what."

That made me giggle a little, which was nice, cause it was an honest laugh, not forced. I knew calling Sam was a good idea. We chatted for a bit longer. Sam told me what was going on with his family. I asked him to not tell Jason that anything was wrong, or that Eric may have taken some liberties when explaining my situation. I also made Sam promise not to do anything stupid, and that I would be sure to check in with him on a regular basis, and let him know I was alright. He was agreeable to that, and said he wouldn't tell Jason as long as I made sure to check in with both of them.

After I hung up with Sam, the rest of the day was uneventful. I watched some television, went down to the casino floor for dinner, and generally just hung around the hotel.


	27. Chapter 31

**Hey everyone!**

**Thanks for the reviews and kind words. :) I was a bit bad, and checked them at work today, but I needed to, it was lousy, and this was a pickup. **

**So here's the first of 3 more chapters for the night. I really need to get moving on the ending. Ya'll are slowly catching up with me here.**

**Charlaine Harris owns all characters except for the ones that I made up.**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. I was bored, but I was still to depressed about everything, and didn't feel like doing anything either. Clark came to check on me twice a day, and I spoke with Eric twice a night. Before I knew it, it was Saturday, and I had that meeting with Felipe to attend.

I checked with Clark that morning to find out what I should wear. He said it was nothing formal, and that jeans and a shirt would be fine, so that's what I wore. Clark met me at my door around eleven at night, and we went down to the same mini suite that we had met Felipe in the day I had gotten here. This time, Clark had a key card, and we went right in. Felipe was there with Victor, and there was a human male, short, round, and very nervous. When Clark and I walked in, the man's thoughts instantly went to us, trying to figure out if we were vampire or humans, and he sure hoped we were human cause all these vampires were making him nervous.

Felipe rose and walked over to greet us. Victor rose, but stayed in place. Felipe led us over to the living room area, and explained that the man with him this evening was a "Meester. Ryans" who he was thinking about going into business with for a club. Right then, I knew that I was probably here to find out if Mr. Ryans was being honest with them about the information for the club or not. No big deal I guess.

Felipe introduced Clark and me as business acquaintances of his that would also be interested in investing. I shook Mr. Ryans hand before I sat down, and Clark did the same. We sat and listened as he spoke. Turns out it was one of those girlie clubs that he was interested in opening. Gross. He had a little presentation on the laptop he had brought with him. At first, I was seriously paying attention to the presentation, and then I remembered that I had a job to do.

Mr. Ryans was still nervous. But I soon found that it wasn't nerves about being in the same room with vampires or trying to deceive them or anything like that. He was just nervous that they wouldn't invest. He really wanted to open this club, in hopes that he could hook up with the dancers. Double gross. But, he was being honest with Felipe, so that was good.

Once his presentation was over, Felipe and Victor thanked him for coming over to meet with them, and told him they would be in touch. Clark and I said goodbye, and then Felipe started with the question.

"Mees. Stackhouse, did you hear anything interesting?" Felipe asked.

"Well, aside from him thinking he's going to get a topless dancer for a girlfriend, not really." Clark snickered when I said that, but I continued. "He was being honest with you. He really wants to open the club and wants it to be successful."

"Very good Mees. Stackhouse, that will be all." and Clark got up and signaled for me to do the same. I did, and we headed out the door. We got to the elevator, and waited for it to reach our floor.

"Well that just seemed like a waste of time to me." I said to Clark while we waited.

"Not really. Felipe has a lot of people approach him for business deals, and a lot of the time they turn out to be fake. Someone just trying to make a quick buck. This way, I guess he wont be losing money by investing in people who turn out to be a scam."

"I mean it was a waste of my time. Did they really force me to Vegas for this?" and I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Clark laughed a little, and I looked over at him, and actually really noticed him for the first time. I mean, I had seen him, but I had been in such a fog from everything, I never really noticed him before.

He wasn't bad looking. He looked like he was maybe thirty. He was about six foot, he had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a giant smile, and his body was pretty well maintained. He wasn't a body builder, but he wasn't undefined either. He happened to be wearing a form fitting grey shirt tonight with a slight v-neck, and dark jeans. He was pretty good looking actually. How did such a cute guy get mixed up in all this? He looked like he should be out having a good time with the guys, or starting a family or something. Not this.

The elevator arrived, and we got on, and Clark hit the button for my floor. "Hey," I started, "you got any plans for tonight? I'm going nuts just staying inside. Want to grab desert or something?"

He seemed a little shocked that I was asking him if he wanted to do something. "Um, sure. I know a great little dueling piano bar downstairs. We can grab desert at the café next to it, and then go hang out there."

"Sounds good to me." I said. "I just need to make a quick phone call before we do. You know, checking in back home." We got off the elevator, and headed down towards my room. We got to the door, and I opened it with my keycard thing. "You can come in and wait, I will only be a few minutes."

He came in, and had a seat in the living room. I went into my bedroom, and called Eric.

"Lover. I take it all is well?"

"Yep, the meeting was quick. They had someone wanting them to invest in a club. Had me make sure he wasn't lying. He wasn't. How are things going back home?"

"Well, I just got home."

"That's good. I really miss you Eric." and I sighed. I did miss him.

"I miss you to Lover."

"Listen, can you call me tomorrow when you wake up?"

"Sookie, is something wrong? You feel nervous."

"No, I'm fine. I don't feel nervous." I actually did, but it was because I was planning on heading out right now, and I didn't want to seem like I was just going out and having fun and loving Vegas and not missing Eric.

"Sookie, what's wrong, what are you not telling me? Are you not able to speak about it now?"

"Eric, really I'm fine." Oh great, I needed to be honest with him before he freaked out and thought that someone was manipulating me or something. "Actually, I was just about to head downstairs to the casino with Clark. I've kept myself all cooped up here, and I just want to go out and do something before I go mad."

Eric was silent for a moment, "Are you going on a date with this man?"

I laughed so hard just then. I could hardly breathe I was laughing so hard. I could tell Eric was not amused however. "Eric, of course I'm not going on a date. That's just silly. Look, I'm just going to take a look around downstairs with him at the casino. I promise. No funny business. He's the only person I know here, and I asked him to keep me company for a little bit. That's it."

"Fine." was all Eric said, and he hung up the phone. Oh well, I'm in a semi-good mood for the first time since I got here, and since I'm going to be here for a while, I'm going to make the best of it. I did my best to make sure I didn't look upset or flushed or anything but happy when I walked back out to the living room. Clark got up, and we headed out.


	28. Chapter 32

**One more after this.**

**Sorry for keeping Eric away, but there is a plan.**

**At least they do get to talk on the phone right? **

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters except for Clark. He's mine.**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

He took me to this little French café style bakery downstairs. Their deserts looked amazing, and I had a hard time picking what I wanted. I finally settled on the mini, single serving size, flourless chocolate raspberry cake. It tasted more amazing than it looked. We never actually made it to the dueling piano bar. It sounded way too loud, and we could actually hear it perfectly fine from the café next door where we had gotten our desert at. Clark got a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. We sat at an open table, and dug in.

We chit chatted for a little bit. Clark did a lot of asking, and I did a lot of answering. He asked about my hometown, and my family. He asked about my job and friends, and what I did in my spare time. The subject eventually got to Eric, and he asked about him.

"Is that who you called before we came down?" he asked as he took another bite of his cheesecake.

"Yeah. He wasn't too happy about me going out with another guy." Clark looked up from his cheesecake when I said that.

"Oh, is he your boyfriend?" Clark asked, and went back to eating. Well, yes, I guess technically he could be considered my boyfriend, or vampire ex-husband, but none of that seemed to sound right. But then, I didn't know what to call him otherwise.

"I guess you could call him that."

"Tell me about him." Clark asked, and so I did. I told him about the first time I met Eric, and how he saved my life by staking another vampire who was trying to kill me in his bar. I told him about how Eric had come to my rescue in Dallas, and how he came to my rescue when I was trying to investigate Lafayette's murder. I told him about Eric's amnesia, and how he stayed with me, (Although, I did leave some of those details out. You know, the really personal stuff, and also how I shot and killed Debbie.) I also told him about our trip to the vampire conference, and my part in saving people from the bombing, and getting the chance to finally repay Eric for saving my life before, by saving his. I told him about how we had a blood bond, but I broke it, which is what ultimately got me into this mess in the first place, and how Eric and I had been pledged, although it was against my will at first, I didn't really do anything to dissolve it.

"Sounds like you love the guy." Clark said once I was done with the history of Sookie and Eric, Volume One.

Now it was my turn to look shocked at something that Clark had said. "What? No, I don't love him. I have feelings for him. Strong ones. He's very important to me, but I wouldn't say that I loved him."

"Well, it sure sounds like you do. Shame, you were starting to grow on me now that you're talking to me." he said, and smiled, which made me double over in laughter.

"Yeah, I was really mean to you when I got here. I'm sorry about that. I wasn't mad at you or anything; it was more of the situation, and anything associated with Felipe."

"Don't worry about it. I would be more than a little upset if I was in your position." he said, and then finished the rest of his cheesecake.

I checked the time, and realized that Clark and I had been sitting down at the café for two hours. It was nearly two in the morning. It was easy to lose track of the time when no one seemed to go to bed around here. There were just as many people walking around now as when we had gotten here. If this had been Bon Temps, you would be lucky to find someone up at this hour, even on a Saturday night.

"I should go back now." I said to Clark, "I didn't realize it was so late, and it's almost time for Eric to go to bed, and I want to make sure I smooth things over with him before he does."

"No problem, I'll walk back with you." Clark gathered our trash, and threw them away, and we headed back to the elevators. We didn't say anything the whole way back. He stopped with me on my floor, and walked me to my door. I opened it, and turned around to say good night. Clark picked up my hand and started to lean in for a kiss, and I yanked my hand back.

"Good night Clark." I said curtly to him, and shut the door before he had a chance to respond. Well, that didn't end well. Who did he think he was? I just got done pouring my heart out to him about Eric, and he tries to kiss my hand? I hardly knew him, and this wasn't even a date, right? He couldn't have thought this was a date, I told him it wasn't.

I went into my room, and called Eric.

"How was your date?" were the first words out of his mouth. I was so not in the mood for this now.

"It wasn't a date Eric." I whined into the phone.

"What were you doing that you were, _feeling_, the way that you were Sookie?"

"What are you talking about? How was I _feeling_?" I said, trying to imitate the way he said "feeling" to me, like a smarty pants.

"Something, or someone, had you…" and he paused for a good minute here, so I spoke up. The suspense was killing me, because I wasn't aware of any change in my mood tonight.

"Had me what? Pissed? That was probably you."

"Aroused." he finally said.

"What? Aroused? Oh."

"Continue please." he said flatly.

"That was probably you too. I didn't really do anything tonight but talk about you. I guess my mind wandered a little on the parts that I left out, you know, the personal stuff."

"Oh really? You spoke of only me tonight?" Eric asked, and his tone had gone from flat, to mischievous. That put a smile on my face finally.

I laughed a little, "Yes, I told Clark all about you. You and me."

"Us? I see. And how did Clark feel about this?"

"Well, fine I guess. He asked some questions. He asked if I loved you." Oh Sookie, why are you bringing that up? It's only going to make you cry you know.

"Oh really. And how did you respond Lover?" Eric asked, still with his mischievous.

"Oh I don't want to get into this now Eric." Basically, even if I wasn't exactly in love with him, I didn't want to hear him say he wasn't quite in love with me either. I changed the subject. "I've been meaning to ask you, how's Bill?"

"Sookie, answer the question, how did you respond? I'm quite curious."

"I told him basically what we told each other before. I wasn't exactly in love with you, but I cared about you a lot. I guess it's as close to love as you could get." I lowered my head and shook it. Why did I even bring this part up?

"I see. And you still feel this same way now as you did when we spoke of this at my home?"

"Basically. I could say that I've realized I care for you more now that I did then. I could say now that I would rather be Felipe's property and living with him in Las Vegas than have you die. Oh wait, that's exactly what's happening right now isn't it!" I said sarcastically.

Now Eric changed the subject. "What are your plans for tomorrow Lover? Are you going to be spending the day with Clark?"

"Not after tonight." Oh crap! I needed to get off this call with Eric before I got someone killed.

"What does that mean Lover?" he was back to his serious tone now.

"Nothing, I just meant that it was fun, sort of, but that I'm really not here to make any friends." I hope he bought that.

"You are not being completely honest with me, but you will tell me eventually. I don't want to… argue with you again this evening Lover." he paused for a moment, and then continued, "It's time for me to say good night Sookie, I need to get to bed. I will talk to you when I rise."

"Good night Eric. I miss you." I said in a whisper.

"Good night Lover." and he hung up the phone.


	29. Chapter 33

**Last one for the night.**

**It's a long one for me.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. Except for Clark. He's mine.**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

The next month flew by. I was counting down the days until I could ask Felipe about Eric coming out. I only hung out with Clark when I absolutely had to. Felipe usually had me in on some kind of a meeting at least twice a week. Sometimes he had me go check out businesses during the day, and try to strike up conversations with the employee's to get information from them. I was getting pretty good at leading the conversation in the right direction without them knowing. You know, saying certain key words in a sentence that would get their mind on the subject I wanted it to be on.

I was checking in with Sam every week, and getting updates about home. I would tell him about what I was doing out here. I talked to Jason a few times. He was still clueless as to why I was really out here, so I had to put on a very happy front anytime that I talked to him.

I spoke to Eric still at least twice a night. Once when he woke up, and once before he went to bed. He had tried to talk me into phone sex once, but I was not about to be nasty over the phone with him. I told him to save it for when he got here, which seemed to work.

Other than that, this was the most boring thing ever. I know I'm in Las Vegas, and that people come here to have fun all year long, but when you're forced to be here, you don't really feel like doing much. The one thing that I did love was the weather. It was always hot and sunny, and it was a dry heat, so I didn't feel all sweaty and gross as soon as I stepped outside. The hotel had a nice pool, and I went out to it to lay out at least once a week.

Another week went by. I woke up one morning, and I felt terrible, I felt like, like, like I was going to throw up! I ran to the bathroom, and just barely made it to the toilet. Ugh, I can't be sick! I'm never sick. I can't remember the last time I was sick. Once I was done at the toilet, I rinsed my mouth out, and went back to bed. I felt nauseous, and my body hurt. I was freezing, and my head was pounding. Oh great, the flu. I leaned over and picked up the phone. I didn't want to do this, but I had no other choice. I called Clark.

"Hello?" he said.

"Clark, its Sookie. I need a favor."

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"I think I've got the flu. Could you run down to the general merch store and pick me up some aspirin, and maybe something for nausea?"

"Sure, no problem. Is there anything else? You want some soup or something?"

"Ugh, don't mention food right now."

Clark giggled a little, "Sorry bout that. Give me a few minutes to get dressed, and I'll head down."

"Thanks." I said, and hung up the phone.

Clark was knocking at my door about fifteen minutes later. I started to get up to let him in, but he had his own key, and let himself in. He hollered out that he was coming back to the room. He took one look at me, and made a funny face.

"Geeze Sookie, you don't look to good." He set a bag down on the nightstand next to me, "Be right back, let me get you some water." and we went into the little kitchen back out by the living room. He came back with a glass full of water, and set it down on the nightstand. He picked up the bag of stuff that he had gotten, and took out the aspirin, opened it up for me, and gave me two. Next, he took out something he had gotten for nausea, and handed me two of those. I took them, and struggled to keep them down.

"I'm gonna hang out here with you alright? If you need anything, let me know, I will be in the living room."

"You don't have to do that Clark, really…" but he put a hand up to stop me.

"You need to stay in bed and rest. Just holler if you need anything, alright?"

I shook my head in agreement, and he left the room. I rolled over, and went back to sleep.

I woke up again when the phone rang. I looked at the time, and realized that it would be Eric, but before I had a chance to answer it, it stopped ringing, and I heard Clark in the living room say hello. Crap! A minute went by, and then he walked into my room.

"It's that Eric guy." he whispered, and walked out of the room. I leaned over, ouch, still in pain, and picked up the phone.

"I got it Clark." I yelled out to the living room, and I heard him hang up his end of the line.

"Sookie, why is Clark answering your phone?" were the first words out of Eric's mouth.

"Well hello to you too." I said back, trying to sound as much of a smart ass as I could. My head was pounding, and I wasn't in the mood for this right now. "He's here because I'm sick. I think I have the flu. He went and got me medicine this morning, and stayed out in the living room to take care of me if I needed anything."

"I should be the one there taking care of you." he said.

"Believe me, I wish it was you too." I shifted in bed to try to get into a more comfortable position. "Ouch, ugh."

"Well, I think whatever link we had has diminished finally Lover. I don't feel anything from you right now at all." Eric said, and he sounded depressed.

"Well you defiantly lucked out then. I feel terrible. You don't want to feel how I feel right now."

"Lover, I will let you rest. I miss you my love."

My love? "I miss you to Eric. Call me before you go to bed alright?"

"Of course Lover. Feel better."

"Thanks." and with that, we hung up.

Clark must have heard that I had stopped talking, and came into my room with a fresh glass of water. "It's time for you to take more medicine. Do you need anything? You hungry at all?"

I shook my head no as he came around to the nightstand, handed me the water, and took out some more aspirin. He handed it to me, and I downed it, and again, struggled to keep it down.

"I left a message for Felipe that you weren't feeling well, and to excuse you for the next few days at least."

"Thanks. Do you think that he will understand?"

"Yeah, I got the flu once just after I became one of his day guys. I still showed up for work, because I was nervous about losing the job. He didn't say anything to me really until I passed out during a meeting that night. He understands now the flu is serious, and is alright with you missing work if you're sick as long as you're not faking."

"Good to know." I said, and Clark started to head out of my room. "Clark?"

"Yeah Sookie?"

"Thanks again."

"No problem." and with that, he left the room, and I went back to bed.

* * *

After about a week, I was feeling pretty much back to my old self. Clark had stayed in my hotel room, (On the couch) for the first few days, and then came to check on me each day, and bring me soup and anything else that I needed. I started to feel guilty for ignoring him for the last few weeks. I mean really, what had he done? He just tried to kiss my hand, and he wasn't even successful at it. I think he understood now that I wasn't going to put up with that kind of funny business.

After I was feeling completely better, I went back to work for Felipe, which wasn't too bad either. I was sitting in on any meeting now that he had that involved humans in any way. Mostly about investments, sometimes it was Felipe interviewing potential employee's for himself or any of his business ventures. People who were going to be influential and whatnot.

Clark and I were hanging out on a regular basis now. I still hadn't made any friends, except for Clark. He took me around to all the hotels, the best places to eat, the best shows, and just sight seeing in general. We had a good time, and since the hand kissing attempt incident, there hadn't been any more. Clark seemed to understand that I was with Eric, and that wasn't going to change. I will say though, it was nice having a regular human friend who I could go to dinner with, and they actually ate with me.

Eric and I still spoke daily, except now it was usually only once a day before he went to bed in the morning. That was the best time for us since I was usually finishing whatever business I had with Felipe, and was getting ready for bed as well. I had been honest for the most part with Eric about the time I was spending with Clark. Eric didn't care for it at first, but eventually stopped harping at me on the subject when I told him how miserable I was just sitting here by myself. It was a bad situation, but I might as well make the best of it if I could.

The other good thing was that I hardly had to see Victor at all. He came out with me when I first got here and then left a few days later, but I didn't see him that entire time. He came out once more just before I got the flu, and he sat in on a meeting that Felipe had with a man looking for an investor, but we didn't speak and hardly even acknowledged each other. Felipe had noticed, and thought it was funny, and didn't understand why I didn't like Victor more. Victor I found was very submissive when he was around Felipe. I wondered if Felipe had any idea how he was back in Louisiana. If anyone had told him, he must not have believed it, or brushed it off as Victor just trying to do his job.

Now, don't get me wrong, I may be getting out and doing things, and maybe my job wasn't that horrible, but the fact was, deep down, I still hated it here, because I was being forced into it, and I wasn't able to see any of my family or friends, and most importantly, I wasn't able to see Eric.

Speaking of Eric, it was just a month until he got to come see me finally. I couldn't wait, and neither could he. Our nightly conversation usually began with one of us telling the other how many days were left. I had confirmed with Felipe that it was still okay for Eric to come see me in a month, and he even helped me get the airline arrangements in order for Eric. He also arranged to have the windows in my room retrofitted to block out the sun so that Eric could stay with me. Felipe explained that all the major hotels were doing this now, making accommodations available to vampires that normally had not been. In Vegas, he was a big advocate of that, and since he did so much business at the Paris, they were more than willing to do whatever it took to keep him there.

Another two uneventful weeks passed. It was two weeks until Eric came to see me. Fourteen days. It was going to be the longest fourteen days ever. Clark and I didn't have any work with Felipe this particular evening, so he offered to take me to some new club that was apparently a nightmare to try to get into, but thanks to Felipe, we didn't even have to wait. Now, I'm not normally a shallow person, but I can't tell you how great it felt to bypass the entire line, and just walk right into that club, cutting off all those girls that were defiantly skinnier and prettier than me.

Clark had taken me to a few clubs before, so I was used to the loud music, and the shoulder to shoulder standing room. I had even gotten pretty good at blocking out everyone's thoughts, and I could just enjoy my drink and the music and the dancing. Clark was a pretty good dancer, not as good as I was, but good enough to keep up with me. This was one of those things that I didn't completely fill Eric in on. Maybe I should, but really, why get him all worked up over nothing? This new club was pretty fantastic. It was at the Wynn, which was the nicest hotel that I had seen on the strip. The music was good, the drinks were good, and it was pretty easy to forget my troubles, and blocking out peoples thoughts. I tried to keep my mental block up, but it was slipping every now and then. Probably because I was three sheets to the wind. I guess I defiantly got what I paid for out of my drinks. Every now and then I was getting a thought or two from Clark. They were pretty harmless. He was checking out some girl who was dancing next to us, and then he was thinking about what a good dancer I was, and then…

"_God she's gorgeous, I wish she would just forget about that damn Eric already."_

"Excuse me?" I said, but he couldn't hear me, so I motioned for him to leave the dance floor. I dragged him right out of that club.

"Sookie, why are we leaving, I thought that you were having fun? Wait, where are you going?"

I had initially been standing in front of him, but then decided that I didn't want to talk. Yeah, I was drunk for sure. I couldn't walk straight. Maybe this wasn't the best time to be talking to Clark about this. Hey, I wonder if there is somewhere open that has french fries. Oops, Sookie, focus. Clark was still following me, and finally got tired of it, and reached out to grab my shoulder to get me to stop.

"Sookie, what happened?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You happened."

"Sookie, I have no clue what you're talking about. What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, it's what you thought. I'm going back to the hotel. You can stay and do whatever you want. I don't care." I hope that made sense to him, I could tell I was slurring my words.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled after me, but I didn't stop. He started to chase after me again.

I finally made it to the front of the hotel, and had them pull our limo back around. Clark was standing next to me, trying to get me to talk to him, but I didn't feel like it. This is why I can't date a regular guy. If we had been dating, I would have heard him thinking about that other girl. And I don't want to sound jealous, and I know it's perfectly natural to look, but it's not something that you want to constantly hear.

The limo pulled up, and I got in. I tried to get the driver to leave without Clark, but he wouldn't. I rolled down the window in back where I was sitting, and told him if he wanted to get a ride home; he would have to sit up front with the driver, because he wasn't sitting in back with me. Clark just shook his head, and got in with the driver. I locked the window that separated the driver and the back so that Clark couldn't roll it down to try to talk to me.

When we got back to our hotel, I stumbled out of the limo, and Clark was back to following me, except this time, he wasn't talking. I tried to take my own elevator, but he stuck his arm in at the last minute so that the door would open back up for him. He followed me up to my floor, and all the way to my door. I opened the door and tried to close it on him, but he stuck his foot in the bottom so that I couldn't close it.

"Clark, go away!" I yelled to him, and tried to push his foot out of the way.

"Sookie, will you just talk to me for a minute?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"I thought we had covered this. I'm with Eric, and I don't appreciate you thinking things that you shouldn't."

"Sookie, it's not fair! If you didn't, if you couldn't hear me, you would have never known. I can't help the way I feel or what I'm thinking. And besides, what are you doing listening to me anyways? My thoughts are none of your business."

"Well maybe you need to watch what you think around a telepath! I couldn't help it anyway," and I lifted up the drink that I didn't realize I had taken from the club, oops, "you got me drunk."

Clark laughed a little, but then went back to serious face. "Sookie, could you just let me in so that we could talk about this?"

I stood there for a moment to think about it, and decided that we might as well settle this now. I opened the door back up, and Clark stepped in, and before I knew it, he was right in front of me, and had grabbed my chin, and kissed me.

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**Uh oh! Naughty naughty Clark!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!**

**More tomorrow!  
**


	30. Chapter 34

**Sorry I'm so late tonight. It was a lousy day followed by a lousy evening.**

**I've put an A/N down at the end of this chapter to explain something someone brought to my attention.**

**I was happy to see the positive comments however. And I was also happy that Glee was amazing tonight! I was laughing and crying at the same time. Don't you love it when something does that to you?**

**Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, except for Clark, and a few others that I'm throwing in here and there. But none as important as Clark. ;) Who's name inspiration came from the GIANT Gone With The Wind poster hanging above my computer.**

**Snoogans  
**

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At first, I didn't know what to do, I had been ambushed! Then I realized what was going on, and I pushed Clark away with every bit of strength I had. He seemed dazed at first when I finally got him off me. Like I was a drug, and he just took a big hit of me. It was disgusting. I brought my arm back and with all the force I could muster, I smacked him clean across the face. My hand was instantly killing me.

"I'm not sorry I did that." he said.

"You should leave." I said. He didn't fight me on it, and turned around, and left.

Once he was out the door, I set my drink down in the kitchen, went to the bathroom and got some aspirin and water, and went into my bedroom. I changed into my pajamas, and checked the time. It was around two thirty, Eric should still be awake, and it didn't look like he had called, because I didn't have any messages. I decided to call him.

It rang, but he didn't answer. I called again, and no answer. I called a third time, and left a voicemail, which was a bad idea.

"It's Sookie. That asshole Clark kissed me tonight. I'm not speaking to him anymore. I don't know if you can tell that I'm drunk, but I am. It just happened. I miss you, and I love you." and I hung up the phone, and then I was out.

The next morning, I woke up, and found myself rushing to the bathroom, I was so sick. That is the last time I get drunk, I swear it. I crawled back to bed, and took some more aspirin, and drank my left over water from the night before. I checked the time, and it was almost ten in the morning. I rubbed my temples, and tried to remember if I had talked to Eric last night, or did I leave him a voicemail? I looked over at my phone, and saw that the message light was blinking. I had two new messages.

The first one was from Clark. "_Sookie, I got a note from Felipe that he needs you to work tonight. Usual meeting place, ten p.m. Um, can you call me? I think there is some stuff we should talk about. I hope you don't hate me."_ Yeah right, like that's gonna happen. Clark was the last person I wanted to talk to right now.

The next message was from Eric. "_Sookie, I will call you at three p.m. your time. We need to discuss your message."_ Oh great, that didn't sound good. Well, it sounded like I left him a voicemail, but I couldn't remember what I said in it. Was it something about Clark? It must have been, because Eric didn't sound happy.

I turned the television on in my bedroom for a little bit before I fell back asleep. I had a dream about Eric and Clark having a duel over my honor. It was weird because it took place at noon out in the field behind my house. Eric was in the sun, but he wasn't burning, and he looked even more beautiful. I woke up just as their guns fired. It was almost three p.m. I ran to the bathroom to take care of a few human needs before Eric called.

Just like he had said, my phone rang right at three. "Hello?" I said as I answered.

"Hello Sookie." he said, very nonchalant

"Are you mad at me?" I asked in my sheepiest voice.

"No, not exactly. I would like to know what you are doing there that is causing some man to think that he can just kiss you though."

"I didn't do anything. I was actually trying to get away from him. I'm so sorry Eric, I don't know what happened. Clark and I went to some new club to check it out, and I had a few drinks, and not that it's an excuse but I got drunk and I didn't mean to, but I heard him think about having feelings for me, and so I left, and tried to ditch him but he followed me, and I couldn't get the limo driver to leave and he followed me up to my room, and I tried to shut him out but he put his foot in the door, and I smashed it there but he didn't move and then he got in and then he just kissed me and it was terrible, cause it wasn't you, and he made me so mad and I slapped him and threw him out and he left me a message this morning to call him so we could talk, but I don't want to and I really miss you Eric." and as I finished I could feel myself on the verge of crying and suffocating. I took a deep breath.

I wonder if he understood a thing I just said. It was silent for a moment, and then Eric roared with laughter.

"I don't understand what's so funny!" His laughing was making me mad instead of relieved. He laughed uncontrollably for a few minutes, he just couldn't stop.

"Sookie," he finally said, "I believe you." and then he started to laugh again.

"Eric, stop laughing or I'm hanging up. I don't see what's so funny about this." I yelled back into the phone, and this just got him laughing harder.

"Eric, I'm hanging up now." I said, and that got him to calm down.

"Sookie. I'm not upset with you. I'm glad for your honesty with me last night. I'm upset that this Clark person has turned you into a wreck, and is making you say things to me you don't really mean. I'm also upset with him for kissing someone who is not his to kiss. I will have to have a chat with him when I get out there about this."

"Eric Northman, don't you dare hurt him. I slapped him, and we can leave it at that. He got the message. I have to work with him you know. And what do you mean making me say things I don't mean? I never said anything I didn't mean." I was truly puzzled right now. I meant everything I said in the voicemail, from what I could remember of it. I don't remember saying anything in there that was a lie, or untrue.

"Sookie, you obviously don't remember the entire message. But we will talk about it when I'm there. This is not something that we should be discussing over the phone."

I was clueless, but it must not have been that important if he wasn't going to discuss this with me now.

"Eric, I need to go. I gotta get ready to meet up with Felipe tonight. We're actually going somewhere for once with him. There is some sort of a dinner or something. Sounds boring, but nothing I can really do about it I guess."

"This Clark person will be with you tonight at dinner as well?" Eric asked.

"Yes." I said with a sigh. Now I wasn't looking forward to this dinner for two reasons. The first was that Victor was in town. I hated when he was here.

"If he upsets you in any way, you will let me know?" he asked in his innocent voice.

"Eric, have a good night. I will call you if we are home early enough. I miss you."

"I miss you too. You don't have anything else to say to me?" he asked, and started laughing again. I don't know what he thought was so funny tonight. Maybe he was losing his mind, who knows.

"Good night Eric!" I said tartly, and hung up the phone.

I went to the closet and took out what I was going to wear for the evening. I had done some retail therapy just before I had gotten sick with the flu, and I finally had a chance to try out my purchases. I had been walking through the mall at one of the other hotels, and came across this deep purple cocktail dress. It went to just below the knees, and on top, well, it was a halter style top, but it was loose around my chest. I had to get garment tape to hold it in place. Other than it being lose there, it was tight everywhere else. I got black pumps to match, and I used the black clutch that I had bought when I first got here. I took a shower, and relaxed a little more before I actually got ready to go out. When it was time, I got dressed; I did my hair up in a bun, and put on a little makeup. I looked great. I really wished that Eric could see me like this. I would have to remember how I looked tonight, and make sure to take him somewhere while he was here that gave me an excuse to wear it. I don't think I had ever looked better.

I decided to leave a little early to avoid Clark, and head down to Felipe's room on my own. I got to the elevator, and waited for it to get to my floor. When the doors opened, Clark was standing inside.

"I'll wait for the next one." I said, and stepped back.

"Sookie, don't be silly, get in the elevator." he said, and rolled his eyes.

"No thank you, I'm sure another will be along soon." and I made sure to look everywhere but in Clarks face.

"Fine!" he said, and he let the doors shut. I waited a few minutes before I hit the button again, and this time when the elevator got to me, it was empty. I took it down to Felipe's floor, and walked down to his room. I knocked, and of course, Clark answered.

"Sookie, how lovely that you could make it. Please, come in." Clark said. What a jerk. I was right back to hating him again. Why did he have to go and ruin the only friendship that I had out here?

"Thank you Clark." I said, and walked past him. Felipe was in the living room, and noticed our little exchange, and started to laugh a little. He rose from his seat, and came over to meet me.

"Mees. Stackhouse, aren't you a vision tonight! Victor, isn't she beautiful!" and he took my hand, and turned me in a circle to take a good look at me. It made me giggle a little. Did I mention that Felipe wasn't actually a bad guy? I was really believing that all this mess in Louisiana was Victor's doing. Felipe treated his people well. I don't think he had any idea of what Victor was doing to his other state.

"Thank you Felipe. Victor, good evening." I said, and did a little head nod in his direction. He raised his hand slightly to acknowledge my presence, but that was about it.

"Clark, don't you think Mees. Stackhouse looks lovely this evening?" Felipe asked, turning me in Clark's direction. I could hear Clark thinking to himself to make sure he didn't think anything. It took everything in me not to laugh at him.

"Yeah, she looks good." he said, keeping his head down now.

"Mees. Stackhouse, it appears that your beauty is lost to these Neanderthals this evening. But no matter, I think you are a vision and so will everyone else this evening!"

"So where is it exactly that we are going?" I asked Felipe as he led me into the living room.

"To a very nice restaurant. Each of my sheriffs from Nevada will be there, along with some other people who work for me, and a few invited guests." he said. I had a seat on the couch, and he sat across from me.

"What am I supposed to be listening for?"

Felipe let out a laugh from his gut, "Nothing Mees. Stackhouse. It's a party, you are supposed to have fun! Please, no work this evening, I want you to enjoy yourself." and she shot me a smile. I really hated that I was starting too really like Felipe.

"I can do that I guess." I said and smiled back. I looked over at Victor, and he was looking back at me. He didn't look mad, but he didn't look happy. His day guy was busy with something on his phone, and didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation. I broke my stare down with Victor when Felipe's main day guy came into the room, and whispered something to Felipe, and Felipe perked up.

"Perfect, thank you." he said to his day guy, and then he stood back up. "Mees. Stackhouse, gentlemen, it's time to go!"

We left the hotel, and all piled into Felipe's limo. We went to the MGM for this dinner meeting. Felipe had reserved the entire restaurant for our dinner party. It was a fancy asian place called Pearl. Clark had told me it was a great place to eat, but when he had been hanging out, we never made it down there to eat.

When we arrived, there were already some people there. Mostly business associates of Felipe's and the sheriff's from Nevada. There weren't many since there was a lot of Nevada that was unpopulated. Felipe did he's rounds with me in tow, making sure I met anyone from his kingdom that I hadn't met yet. After that, I sat with him at his table which consisted of Felipe and his regular day man, Victor and his day man, Clark, and my self. This was awkward. The only person at the table I was really speaking with was Felipe, but since Victor was here, I had to play nice like I promised I would in order to save Eric.

Felipe had ordered a few bottles of Royalty for his table, you know, the blood where there is supposedly blood from royals included in it. The thought of that always grossed me out. The only other time I had ever seen it was when Eric had ordered it for his Dracula party at Fangtasia. Felipe started the conversation at the table by asking me what I thought of Vegas so far, and asked if I had seen any shows or done anything that I loved. I told the table about some of the places that Clark had been sure to take me, and that I was having a good time, and how nice my room was, and how much I appreciated Felipe taking such good care of me. I didn't mean half of what I said, but I noticed Victor watching me carefully as I answered Felipe's questions, and it made me nervous.

"So Mees. Stackhouse, are you excited for your friend Eric to be coming to see you? If memory serves me correct, its two weeks now correct?" Felipe asked, and Victor's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head, just for a split second. I think I was the only one who noticed, because I was staring at him when Felipe asked me.

"Yes, thank you Felipe, it's in two weeks. I can't wait actually. I'm very excited to show him the city. I don't think he's ever visited. I'm looking forward to spending as much time with him as I can." I said with a smile, and looked over at Clark and then Victor this time. Clark looked upset, but I didn't want to know what he was thinking right now and get all upset, and Victor just looked indifferent now. Victor's day man on the other hand seemed to be snickering to himself over that. I opened my mind up to him, and it took everything in me not to drop my water, which I now was in the middle of taking a sip of.

"_enjoys her time while she's got it with that asshole Northman. He's dead once Victor takes over."_

_

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_**A/N - Okay, so someone brought to my attention that in DITF, Eric and Sookie tell each other at one point "I Love You". I didn't remember that at first, but I went and checked, and sure enough, they did. (Page 245 if you wanna see it to)**

**But upon reading that whole section over again, it occured to me WHY I didn't remember. BECAUSE IT WAS LAME! Come on Charlaine! We've been waiting for how long to hear them say that, and it just seems meaningless. I don't think there has ever been a situation in my life, or anyone's I know, or any movie or book that I have ever seen or read where the first "I love you" isn't a "moment" in some sense. I mean, they just kinda tossed it out there all of the sudden, and there really didn't seem to be any emotion behind it to me. Almost an automatic response with no feeling behind it.  
**

**Maybe if they hadn't had that whole "It's as close to love as someone could get." convo earlier in Eric's house, without ever actually FINALLY saying the words, I wouldn't be as upset now that I've re-read this scene, but darn it, now I'm mad!**

**But, it's also sweet to hear them say it too, so I'm not that upset. However, I am going to forget that that ever happened here in my story. So as of now, (other than Sookie's message) they haven't ever actually said "I love you" to each other.**

**That's all I have to say about that. - Forrest Gump  
**


	31. Chapter 35

**Just two tonight cause darn it, I've got laundry that's getting wrinkly in the dryer!**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, except for Clark.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

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I don't know how that thought started, but I know I heard enough of it. I needed to talk to Clark about this first. Felipe trusted him, and I needed to get him on my side with this information before I went to Felipe. I spilled the water on my dress.

"Oh no!" I said, and jumped out of my seat. "Clark, do you know where the ladies room is? Clumsy me."

"Yeah, but it's not in the restaurant, you need to go out the door we came in at and swing a right, and" and I stopped him right there.

"Could you show me? I don't want to get lost in this place." I said, and gave him my best 'you need to go with me' look.

"Okay… sure. Excuse us gentlemen." and he stood up, and we left the restaurant, and headed to the restrooms.

Once we were out of earshot for a vampire, which was all the way at the actual restrooms, I stopped and pushed Clark against the wall. Of course, he took this the wrong way, and gave me a very sinister grin, similar to the one Eric gives me when, well, you know. I made sure my mind was locked up tight.

"Clark, listen. When I was talking about Eric visiting, I heard Victors man's thoughts, and it wasn't good." and I'm sure I looked absolutely terrified at this point.

Clark lost his grin, and now looked puzzled. "What? What did you hear?" he asked.

"I heard him say that he hoped I enjoyed my time with Eric cause once Victor took over, Eric was a dead man. Now, to me, the key word there is Eric dying, but I actually like Felipe, and I don't want something to happen to him, so we need to tell him." I said, and Clark was still looking at me puzzled. I turned my head away now, and was thinking out loud. "We knew he was up to no good, and we suspected he was planning on taking over Louisiana, but I wonder if that's what his day man meant. Or was he talking about taking over Nevada and Louisiana? It would be just like him to go for both…" and I trailed off.

I looked back at Clark, who seemed to still be digesting this information. "I can explain everything Clark, but we need to meet somewhere private. Can you come to my room tomorrow morning? That way, we won't risk a vamp hearing. For now, just forget we had this conversation. Wait for me while I go clean up." and I walked into the restroom.

I dried my dress off as best I could, and came back out. Clark was waiting for me, and it appeared that while I was in the restroom, my news had sunk in.

"Sookie, are you sure that's what you heard?" he asked as we started to walk back.

"Yes, I'm positive. Now shut up about it, you don't want anyone to hear us."

"Sookie, would you even be talking to me right now if it wasn't for this?" he asked, his head looking down.

"Nope, I wouldn't." I said, and instantly felt a little bad. Not enough to apologize though.

We got back to the restaurant, and desert was coming out. I kept my mind open the rest of the night, and was trying just to focus on Victor's day guy, but I didn't get anything else from him on the subject. I did catch a few things here and there from Clark. He kept thinking about how pretty I looked tonight, and that he was sure he had ruined things with me for good this last time. I giggled to myself, what things? We had no thing between us. Men.

We finished up desert, and then it was time for a little more schmoozing around with the guests. I tried to stay as close to Victor's day guy, whose name I found out was Brian, and see if he ever thought about this apparent takeover again. He didn't, but that was alright. I figured what I had heard was pretty straight forward, and enough to go to Felipe over.

Felipe let me excuse myself when he noticed I was looking a bit tired. I wasn't really too tired, but my feet were killing me in these heels. They made my legs and butt look so good, but boy did they kill my feet! I tried to insist on staying, but he said that I had done a wonderful job this evening, and was free to leave for the night, no strings. He had Clark go with me so that he knew I would get back to the hotel safe. He called his driver and gave him instructions to take us back, and then come back to wait for him at the MGM.

Clark and I were in the limo on the way back when he spoke to me again. I hadn't realized that hadn't spoken to me since I was harsh with him earlier. "So what time you want me to swing by tomorrow?" he asked.

"Come by around ten in the morning?" I said back.

"Sure." he answered back, but still didn't look at me. Oh well.

We didn't talk at all after that. We got back to the Paris, and he walked me to my door without a word. Just before I closed the door I told him thanks, and that I would see him at ten.

The second the door was shut, I locked it, and ran into my bedroom to call Eric. He didn't answer the first time, so I just kept calling. Finally, the fourth time, he picked up.

"Lover, what's wrong?" he said when he answered. I could tell he was at Fangtasia, I could hear the music in the background.

"You need to go somewhere private before I tell you what happened tonight." I said with some urgency in my voice. He didn't question me any further, and I could hear the music getting further and further away.

"I'm in my office now, continue." he said, and my urgency had seemed to rub off on him.

"I was at dinner tonight, some party thing, and Victor was there with his day man, and Felipe was asking about you coming out in two weeks, and Victor's day guy had some weird look on his face, and so I listened in on him, you know, and he was thinking about how he hoped I enjoyed your visit, cause you were dead once Victor took over. I already told Clark, but I'm still not sure about going to Felipe."

Eric was silent for a good five minutes. I figured he was thinking, but then I got worried that maybe he had just dropped his phone and was flying here or something, so I checked, "Eric? You still there?"

"Yes. Did you get anything else from him?" he asked, and he didn't sound happy at all.

"No, that was it. I tried to listen to him the entire time after that, but he never went back to that. What are we going to do?"

"You believe you can trust Clark with this information?" he asked.

"Yes, I do." I responded, very sure of it. I knew I could trust him with this. He was loyal to Felipe, and with good reason. Felipe was a great boss. "Eric, I'm scared, and I miss you."

"I miss you as well Lover. Please don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise you that."

"Us, you won't let anything happen to us."

"Yes, us. Now, I want you to get a good night sleep Lover. Who knows what tomorrow will bring for you. I will call you when I wake to find out how your discussion with Clark went, and what is going to happen with bringing this to the attention of Felipe."

"Alright, until then I guess. Goodnight Eric, I miss you."

"Goodnight Lover." he said, and I hung up the phone.

I changed into my pajamas, and got into bed. I had a hard time falling asleep. My mind was racing with what had happened. I wanted to give Felipe the heads up on the situation, but I was worried that he wouldn't believe me. I mean really, who was I to him? He seemed like he liked me, but I had only been here two and a half months. I saved his life once, and he tried to repay me by wanting me to come out here to Vegas when I didn't want to. I still ended up out here, but not by his hand exactly. At least he had respected my bond with Eric, when I had the bond with Eric. I'm not sure when, but eventually, I did fall asleep.

The next morning, I woke up at around nine. I showered and got dressed, ate a breakfast bar that I had in the little kitchen in my room, and waited for Clark. He knocked on my door at ten a.m. exactly. I jumped up to answer, and let him in.

I showed him over to the couch so that we could talk.

"So, you want to explain a little more about last night? What was all that about? Do you think Victor is really planning to try to take over?" Clark asked right off the bat.

"Yes, one hundred percent I believe it. I don't think you or Felipe know the Victor that we know. Now, honestly, at first, when Felipe took over Louisiana, we weren't sure what to think of him. When he left Victor in charge, and with the things that Victor pulled, I didn't trust Felipe when I came here. But seeing Felipe, and knowing him now, it's VERY clear to me that anything that Victor has done in Louisiana has been kept from Felipe."

"What the hell has Victor been up to? Why didn't you say anything before Sookie?"

"Where do I start! He runs things there with an iron fist. Eric was the only sheriff left alive when Felipe took over. I think Victor wanted to start with a new regime in the state, and wasn't happy that Eric didn't die, and was able to keep his position. Once Felipe left, Victor made it clear that he didn't like Eric through his actions. Eric and I were pledged to keep me in Louisiana.."

"What's pledged?"

"Um, well, it's basically a vampire marriage ceremony. Anyway,"

"Wait, you and Eric are married?"

"We were, under vampire law, yes, but not by any law's that I recognize."

"Were?"

"Yes, were, but I broke it on accident, which is how I ended up here. Now, Eric and I were pledged to make sure Victor or Felipe couldn't take me here. There was some other stuff happening at the time, and I ended up getting kidnapped. We think Victor tipped off the kidnappers to my location, and he kept Eric hostage so that I could be tortured. Well, we don't really think that, we are pretty damn sure of it, we really don't have any proof that he tipped them off, but it's a fact that on the night that I go missing, Victor show's up at Eric's office, and chains him and his progeny Pam down to keep them from getting to me before.." and I started to tear up thinking back on that night. "Not important. Anyway," I had to stop again to fight off the tears.

Clark reached out a hand to me, and patted me on the shoulder. "It's okay Sookie, you don't have to talk about that if you don't want to."

"No, you need to know, so that we can go to Felipe. Anyway, how I ended up here. Victor found out about an action I did that voided my pledge with Eric. He ran me off the road one night, and basically told me he knew what I had done, and WAS going to get me. Eric put me in hiding, but Victor found us, and kidnapped Eric, and was torturing him trying to get to me. Eventually, he caught up with me, and so that he didn't kill Eric, I made a deal with him that I would keep quiet about the way he was running things, and about something that he had that he shouldn't, and in exchange, he let Eric go, and not kill him. He had me shipped out here that same night."

"Wow, no wonder you didn't want to talk to me on the plane."

"Yeah, I wasn't really in the best mood that night. I had come from where he was keeping Eric hostage when we arrived at the airport."

Clark and I were silent for a few minutes before he spoke again. "You must really love the guy."

"Huh?"

"Eric. You must really love him, considering what you did to keep him alive, well, from meeting the final death."

"I'm not in love with him. I think it's as close to love as anyone could get, but I wouldn't use the word love." No, I thought to myself, still not quite love I guess, despite everything I had done. I did them for someone I really cared about, but not quite love.

Clark sort of rolled his eyes. "Sure, if you say so."

"Back on topic please. What do you think Felipe will say, or react? You know him better. What should we tell him? I don't really care at this point as long as he can promise me Eric's safety."

"Well, I think coming from you and me, he will believe us, or at least listen to what we have to say. I really don't know Sookie. He seems like he trusts Victor. The Victor you described sounds nothing like the one that we know really. I do believe you, don't get me wrong, but I can't say the same for Felipe I guess."

I got worried now. What if we went to Felipe, and he didn't believe us, or asked Victor about it outright. Victor would then know I broke my end of our deal, and Eric would be in danger. I wouldn't let that happen.

"I think that maybe I should investigate this a little more before we go to Felipe. Above everything, I need to make sure that Eric and me are safe. I won't risk putting us both in danger. If we go to Felipe, and he tells Victor, my deal with Victor is off, and I won't do that. If you go to Felipe with this without me, I will deny all of it, and I will kill if I need to in order to keep Eric and me safe." I said, and I must have looked deadly serious, because Clark turned beat red.

"Understood. So, where do we start then? I mean, with checking into this with Victor?"

"I'm not sure. Do you know how much longer he's in town for?"

"I think he's going to be here until Eric gets here at least. So two weeks."

"Huh, I wonder if that's when he's going to make his move then? Get rid of Eric while he's here, while he has no protection or backup from anyone in his area. That way, he would go back to Louisiana unopposed."

"That would make sense. If you're saying that all the new sheriffs were setup after he started there, they would only be loyal to Victor."

"Exactly. Eric was his only opponent really. And Eric lost a lot of friends when Felipe took over the state. He's been cooperative for Felipe, but not Victor, and Victor knows it." Now I was in deep thought. We both were.

"Well," I started, "I guess I need to start following around Brian, and see if I can pick up anything else from him, or something that will give me evidence to show Felipe."

"You mean we need to start following him." Clark responded. He seemed to be confirming this in his head, but I didn't check, just in case he was thinking something that he shouldn't.

"Do you know if we have to meet with Felipe tonight?"

"Nope, last I heard from him this morning before he turned in for the day, we were free tonight. That might change, but you know it usually doesn't if he tells us we have the night off."

"Good. I think then maybe we should see what he's up to tonight. Maybe reach out to him on a 'why don't us worker bee's get together and hang out' level. See if he can take the night off from Victor?"

"Worth a shot I guess. Worst comes to worst, we can just trail him."

"Sounds like a plan. Alright, I have some weekly call's to make back home. Since you know him, and I'm sure he doesn't trust me, you want to see if you can get Brian to go out with you tonight, and then I can meet you wherever it is you head off too?"

"Sure. Here, take this." Clark said, and handed me his cell phone. "I have a couple lines, this one is my personal one, but I don't have much of a personal life, so you probably won't get a text or call. Just make sure to answer when I call you from my work cell. I will let you know where we are headed and what time if he agrees to hang with me tonight."

And with that, Clark got up to leave. I walked to the door with him. "Hey Clark, thanks. You know, for helping me."

He looked down at the ground, in a 'aw shucks' kind of way, "Don't worry about it. This concerns me to ya know. I'm happy to help." And with that, he left.


	32. Chapter 36

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the love.**

**I've got 5 chapters tonight, cause I have company tomorrow, and won't be able to update.**

**So I decided to post extra tonight in lieu of my skipping a day. Sorry. :(**

**Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns all the characters and whatnot, except for Clark, he's mine.**

**Snoogans!  
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I went back to the living room, and made my weekly Jason and Sam calls from there. As usual, I pretty much kept Jason in the dark, the less he knew, the better. But with Sam, I was able to spill my guts. I told him about everything that had happened last night, what I had heard, what I talked about with Eric, and what I talked about with Clark.

"Sook, I don't know how you manage it."

"Manage what?" I asked, genuinely confused. I didn't feel like I was managing anything really.

"Manage to get yourself into any trouble that's around you. You're a magnet for it Sook, I swear." And with that, he laughed. If it had been anyone else laughing, it wouldn't have been funny, but with Sam, I knew it wasn't malicious or anything like that, and it made me laugh too.

I took a nap after I got off the phone with Sam, just in case it ended up being a late night. I had completely forgotten that Eric was going to call me when he woke, and the phone ringing startled me out of my sleep.

"Hello?" I said, a bit groggy.

"Lover, were you sleeping?"

"Yeah, what time is it? Oh crud, I forgot you were going to call back. It's been an interesting day."

"And that's exactly why I'm calling. How did it go with Clark?"

"Good for now. He couldn't guarantee me that Felipe would believe us right off the bat, or that he wouldn't go to Victor about it until he knew more, so he agreed to keep this between us until we can be certain of what Victor is planning and have something solid to go to Felipe with. I basically told him that if he does go to Felipe, I will deny everything. I want to make sure Felipe will promise our safety before he goes to Victor."

"Clark was agreeable to this?"

"Yes. But I think partly because he didn't want to go to Felipe, and seem like a liar if I disagreed with him at all about what he was telling Felipe."

"Sookie, when I come out there, we will leave. I will take you somewhere safe, and we can live free of this."

"Wait right there. I'm not running for the rest of my life Eric. I've already had to leave my home, and I just want to get back. I don't want to never be able to go back."

"I don't know what other option we will have if we cannot get rid of Victor."

"If we can't get rid of Victor, we will figure something out. But I'm telling you right now Eric Northman, I'm not spending my life on the run." I was starting to get upset realizing that running for the rest of my life might actually end up being a possibility in order to at least be alive. But I couldn't bear the thought of never going back home, and seeing Jason, or Sam, or being able to visit Gran, or living in my home ever again.

"Lover, please, don't be upset. We can talk about this again if the situation arises, but I just want to make sure you are aware this is a possibility."

"A last resort." I said, and I could tell by his silence he understood, and wouldn't fight me anymore on the subject. "Well, I'm going to let you go for now. I don't know if Felipe will end up needing me tonight, and even if he doesn't, I still have work to do on the Victor front. I need to get some rest." I wasn't really physically tired, but I was mentally exhausted from all this.

"Good night Lover. Call me if you learn anything, otherwise I will speak with you tomorrow."

"Good night Eric." I said, and hung up the phone. I fell back on the bed, and sighed. I didn't actually fall asleep while I laid there, but after a while, I was starting to feel relaxed and rested. At around six, I got a text on Clark's cell phone. It was from him letting me know that Brian agreed to go have drinks with him, and that they were going to the Carmel lounge at the Belagio at ten tonight, and to meet him there. I text him back asking if we were off the hook then for Felipe tonight. He responded that as of right now, yes, but he would let me know if it changed.

I decided it was probably time to get up, and get some dinner. I was a hungry, and realized that I hadn't really eaten. I ordered room service, and devoured my dinner. I watched a little television when I was done, and when it was about eight thirty, I started to get ready. I hopped in the shower, cleaned up, and got dressed. I wore some dressy shorts, a sleeveless dark grey blouse that was a little low cut in the front, but very cute, and some plain black pumps. I was never really a heel person when I lived in Bon Temps, but since I had been here in Vegas, they had really grown on me. My feet had adjusted pretty much to the awkward position the shoes put them in, and they actually did great things for my legs and butt when I was wearing them. I put my hair back in my normal ponytail, put on a little makeup, and headed out.

When I got to the Belagio, I found where the lounge was, and went and hid myself in a row of slots, and text Clark. I asked if they were at Carmel yet. It was just before ten at this point. A few minutes later, I got a text back that they were just pulling up, and they should be there in a minute. He sent another saying that I should hang back until they go in, let them get a drink or two, that way Brian would be less willing to leave if I showed up.

I sat at the slot I was at, and took a look at the machine. It was something about hexes. I didn't understand how people could get so sucked into playing these things. I had played a few once back when I first started getting out of my hotel room, but after I lost some money, it lost its thrill. It wasn't even my money I was losing, but it still hurt a little to see twenty bucks just vanish like that.

Not much time passed before I saw Clark and Brian walk into the lounge. Well, now that they were there, I figured I could give them twenty minutes or so before I headed in. The lounge was pretty open, and once they got drinks, Clark sat them by a window so that I could see them. I waited for them to be halfway through their second drink before I went in.

I walked in, paid no attention to them, got myself a gin and tonic from the bar, and went "looking" for a place to sit, and oh, wouldn't you know it, ran into Clark and Brian! I tried to act as surprised as possible.

"Hey Clark! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Sookie, just hanging out tonight, since we got it off. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was meeting someone for drinks, but I think I got stood up. Hey Brian, how are you?"

"Sookie." Brian said, just barely breaking his concentration away from his drink long enough to give me a quick glance. Hmm, going to be tougher than I thought.

"So, do ya'll mind if I have a seat? I hate to go back home, well, I mean the hotel, after taking the time to get all dressed up." and I gave my best smile to them both. I could see Clark fighting back a smile, and he was thinking I was pouring it on a little heavy. Hey, I never said I could act.

"Sure, if you don't mind hanging with you're co-workers." Clark replied.

"Not at all." I said, and had a seat next to Clark. I figured if I sat next to Brian, it would scare him off, or be completely obvious that we were up to something.

After that, Clark and I were pretty much the only two talking. Brian chimed in every now and then, but it was never to anything I had said, only to Clark. Thank goodness we weren't actually hanging out, or I would have called Brian on his bad manners five minutes into this whole thing. Clark did a pretty good job of turning the conversation around to me and my time in Vegas so far.

"So, is it starting to feel like home? I mean, you've got pretty swanky digs, who wouldn't love that." Clark said, and gave me a little nudge on the arm.

"Well, my room is great, but it won't fell like home until Eric gets here." and I took a deep sigh. That was a mostly true statement. It would have been completely true if I was actually back in Bon Temps, then I realized that I shouldn't be thinking to myself, I should be listening to Brian. He was a little hard to hear, since there was music playing, and lots of other people around us chatting. He wasn't a clear projector, but enough to where I could hear him pretty well. Before I brought up Eric, he had been thinking about getting away from me, or wishing I would leave so he could enjoy his drink, and his time away from work. Now, he was thinking about Victor taking what was due to him, and about how nice it was going to be to get out of this shit hole (his words, not mine) of a state, and get back to Louisiana. He also was thinking about how he hoped that Victor would let him be the one to tell me that Eric had met the true death, because the look on my face would be priceless. He was also thinking about how even though I was an annoying bitch, he still wanted to bang me. Ugh, gross. After that, he went back to his drink. Well, it wasn't much, but more confirmation that Victor was going take Louisiana.

I gave Clark a look I was hoping was conveying "you should keep asking me about Eric", which he seemed to get, but it didn't matter, because Brian didn't think about the takeover again.

When we got back to the Paris, Clark walked me to my room. I had him come in so that we could talk about what I heard Brian thinking.

"We need to figure out what they have planned. I don't like keeping Felipe out of this for longer than we have to. He needs time to figure out what he's going to do Sookie." Clark was on the verge of pleading with me now it seemed.

"I know. Look, I don't want anything to happen to him either, but above that, I don't want anything to happen to me, or my family, or Eric. They are my priority one right now."

I was standing in my little kitchen getting us some water and checking for any snacks I might have for us. The best I could come up with was some semi-stale but still edible cookies. I needed to hit the grocery store. Clark was sitting on one of the bar stools that was on the other side of the island that was used to kind of separate the kitchen from the living/dining room area of my suite. I was on the other side of the island, kitchen side if you will, leaning my elbows on the counter, and eating a cookie. I looked up at Clark, and he was looking back at me, but not in my eyes if you know what I mean.

"Clark!" I said and straightened up, crossing my arms across what had been his eye line. Clarks eyes shot up to my face. "Better. Anyway, I don't think we could try this move again. Brian doesn't like me, and we can't just keep bumping into each other at random places. I don't know what to do next."

"Well, Victor is going to be here for the next two weeks. We have plenty of time to be around Brian. We'll think of something."

"I hope so."

Not long after, Clark left. I thanked him for his help, and thanked him for his silence until we knew more. I changed into my pajamas, made a small list of things to get at the store tomorrow, and got in bed to call Eric. He didn't answer. I called again, still no answer. I was starting to get worried, tried one last time, still no answer. I was looking for Pam's number when the phone rang.

"Eric?"

"Lover." he said, smoothly.

"Eric, damnit, I was worried."

"I'm sorry, I was working. I didn't realize what time it was. How was your evening?"

"Terrible and good. Didn't really get anything new from Brian, except for now I know he's a sadistic bastard."

"Do I want to know?"

"Not really. Anyway, like I said, nothing important that's new." I paused. "Do you miss me?" I waited a moment, but he didn't say anything. "Eric? Did you hear me?"

"No. I'm sorry Lover. Yes, I miss you." he said, but there wasn't any feeling behind it.

"What are you doing?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"I'm working on something for the bar. Audits. Missing money. Don't trust Bobby to get me a decent accountant to take care of this."

"Oh. Could you stop for just a minute at least, for us?"

There was a pause again from him before he spoke again. "Sookie, not right now." he said flatly.

This sparked something in me then. Now, I know it was no huge thing happening really. He was busy, he's getting audited, and he has to do the work himself so that it gets done right. It's his business for crying out loud. But at the same time, I'm asking for two minutes of his time. A simple "I miss you too." that had some feeling behind it would suffice. I mean really, how hard would that have been? The whole reason I was out here in the first place was his fault. Dragging me into things that I didn't want to do. For goodness sake, I was out tonight trying to get information to save his ass, and I can't even get a heart felt response from him!

"You know what then, never mind." and I hung up the phone. I was expecting him to call right back, but he didn't. After about twenty minutes of sitting on my bed staring at the phone, he still hadn't called, but I was itching to call him. I had gotten upset over nothing really. I had talked myself into a rage over nothing. He was busy, it was his business for crying out loud. It's not like he wasn't coming out here in two weeks, or that I couldn't just talk to him tomorrow afternoon. But really, how hard was it to pay attention to me for two seconds? Not to hard, but still, I felt like I had overreacted, a little. I decided that I would just call him when he woke up tomorrow, apologize for hanging up on him, let him know why I did it thought, and we could just forget it happened. I thought a lot before I fell asleep, about Eric and me. I had a thought in particular that I couldn't decide on, so I decided to sleep on it.

When I woke up the next morning, I decided that my particular thought was a good one, but I wouldn't be able to put it into effect until this afternoon. I decided to get ready to go to the store, and I called Clark to let him know I needed to go, and asked if he wanted to tag along. He said that was kind of his job, so sure, it sounded like a great idea. He was being sarcastic, and it made us both laugh. I decided that now was as good a time as any to ask how he went from being personal assistant to a king, to taking me, a waitress from Bon Temps, Louisiana, to the grocery store. He said he considered it a promotion, and would be up to get me in thirty minutes.

I got dressed, and out we went. We stopped for a late breakfast first. Clark took me to some place called the Peppermill. It was crazy inside. Only in Vegas I guess. The portions were big, and I couldn't finish mine, but Clark devoured his. We talked about other ways to get me in proximity to Brian so that I could listen in on him, but neither of us could come up with anything solid. At this point, we were stuck on a last resort, which I wasn't to thrilled about.

"Sookie, unless you have a better idea, I think we have to run with this for now."

"But I don't know how to tail someone! I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb, I know it Clark. Then he's really going to know something's up, and he will go to Victor, and then Eric and I are as good as dead." I said, being a little over dramatic, maybe, but still, it was dangerous as far as I was concerned.

"Look, you don't have to be a detective or private eye, you just need to stay out of sight, but close enough to hear what he's thinking. How close do you have to be anyways?" Clark asked.

"I don't know that there is an exact distance. I guess, since he's a fairly strong projector, not the best I've heard, but good, I don't have to be too close. Maybe fifty feet, max."

"Well that's perfect. You're in Vegas, that's enough room for you to stay hidden back, he won't ever see you. Wait. What about other people around? And the noise and all that, will that make a difference?"

"Yes, but if I focus, I should be able to still stay pretty far back I guess." I said, and shrugged my shoulders.

"Alright, it's a plan. Now, grocery store?"

"Yes, grocery store." and with that, we left a tip, and headed out the door.

We were headed down a street that went between the Palazzo and the Wynn. I was sitting in the back seat of the limo with Clark, and I was staring out the window. We were driving by a loading dock for the Palazzo, and a familiar shape caught my eye. It was the logo for the E(E)E. The company that Quinn worked for. Wait!

"Wait! Stop the car!" I screamed. The driver looked back at us, but kept going. "I said stop the damn car! Clark, tell him to stop, or I'm jumping out!" I yelled, and grabbed the door handle. Clark told the driver to stop, and before we had completely, I was out the door and running back the other way, back towards the E(E)E crew.

I got there, and was out of breath. I stopped at the first person I saw, who was supervising the unloading of a truck. I was trying to gather my breath and speak at the same time. "Do, you know, if Quinn, is here?"

He was looking at me like I was nuts, but answered anyways. "Yeah, he's just inside, let me, hey!" As soon as he said Quinn was inside, I bolted in the direction he had pointed. I climbed into the loading bay, and started to call for him.

"Quinn! Quinn it's Sookie! Quinn!" I was looking all around, and then I saw him coming through a doorway towards the back of the loading bay area. "Quinn!" I yelled, and started to run to him. He just stood there, not looking at all surprised to see me. I stopped just in front of him, and was still trying to catch my breath from earlier.


	33. Chapter 37

**Oh look, it's Quinn... yippie...**

**Hahahaha! Sorry, that's the response I got from the bestie when he read this part. He's not a Quinn fan, and neither am I.**

**Charlaine Harris is the Brittney to my Arite (Gleek!) and she owns the characters and whatnot, and for all the bitching I've done, I just have to say that I LOVE her work, and I don't know what I would do without the SVM or True Blood. :)**

**Snoogans  
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"Babe, are you okay?" he said finally. He tilted his head to the side to try to catch my gaze. I was doubled over, with my hands on my knees, trying to get back to normal respirations. I looked up at him and smiled. He looked like he was fighting one, but finally gave in, and gave me the biggest smile his face could produce.

"Oh Quinn, I'm so glad to see you. I was driving by, and I saw the E(E)E truck, and it hit me that you would be here. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. How are you?"

He laughed a little, "I'm fine. Living here in Vegas again. You know, kinda didn't have a choice. Couldn't really stay in Louisiana, and the business, and well, you know."

"Yeah. But it sure is great to see someone I know." I said, and whether he liked it or not, (but I could tell he did) I hugged him. After I let him go, I realized he didn't seem to surprised to see me. "Did you know I was here? I mean, here in Vegas."

"Yeah. I'm under Felipe's jurisdiction. I had heard you were here working for him, but not much else." he paused then, and I could tell he was itching to ask how, and ask what happened with Eric. Last time he saw Eric was when he was throwing Quinn off my property, with a broken jaw courtesy of Bill. Quinn wasn't supposed to have come to see me, by Eric's orders, so I'm sure he probably knew about the pledge, considering he had come back to Nevada.

"Well, I'm here. I've been here, for almost three months now. But you probably already knew that. What don't you know?"

"Well, I don't know why. I can figure it probably wasn't by choice. Why didn't Eric stop them from taking you?"

"He tried, but I messed it up."

"When you say tried, are you talking about the pledge?" he asked, and I looked away. "Yeah, I knew. And listen, about that last night, I'm real sorry Babe. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I swear." Now it was his turn to look away.

"It's good to see you." I said finally.

"Good to see you too, Babe."

"Listen, I was wondering if you could help me with something. I thought of a way I could get back home, but I need your help. Is it safe to talk here?" Quinn looked around, his men were busy, and not really paying attention to us anymore, so he nodded his head to continue. "Well, what I was wondering was, how rare is the knife. You know, THE knife. Is that something that there is just one of, or are there a few? Could you get your hands on one?"

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking for Felipe or Victor, or for yourself?"

"Myself. Look, long story short, I messed up, and Eric and I aren't pledged anymore, hence me ending up here. If we could just do that again, he could take me back home." I paused and thought to myself, tears started to well up. I just wanted to go home. Above everything else, I wanted to go home. I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Quinn lifted a hand, and gently, with his index finger, picked the tear up off my cheek.

"Babe, there is another one, but I don't have it. I think I might know where it is, but I'm not sure how easily I will be able to get my hands on it." I started to cry now, from relief, that this could be a possibility. Quinn thought I was crying over this probably not happening (I listened on accident).

I looked up at him, and hugged him again. "I'm crying because I'm happy, not sad. Thank you. If you need anything, money, whatever, let me know. I'm willing to do almost anything to get out of here Quinn." I had gone from a happy crying tone, to a very serious one. Quinn shook his head, and hugged me back. That's what Clark saw when he finally caught up to me, and came walking into the loading bay area that Quinn and I were in.

"Sookie. What the hell?" Clark said, and walked up to us. "Hi, Clark Warner." He said, and put his hand out to shake Quinn's. Quinn shook back, but didn't say anything.

"Clark, this is my friend Quinn." I said as I ended our hug. I was getting from Quinn's mind that he didn't trust Clark. He recognized him as working for Felipe. You could tell each was trying to out-shake the other, and poor Clark had no clue there was no way he could win this one. I could tell Quinn was starting to give a very firm handshake, because there was a small ripple of pain across Clarks face. "Okay boys, I think that's enough hand shaking for you two." and with that, Quinn released his grip.

I turned to Quinn, "Do you have a pen?" and he took one out of his back pocket and handed it to me. I took his hand, and wrote down my hotel and room number. "Call me if you find out anything on what we talked about alright. Or, well, you can just call me." I said, and smiled up at him. "I need to get going, but I hope to hear from you soon Quinn. I'm glad I ran into you."

"Good to see you too Babe." he said, and he hugged me this time. Partly for show to Clark I think. It was a long, hard, personal hug, if you know what I mean. He took a long whiff of my hair at the end of the hug, and I rolled my eyes at him. I turned to Clark and signaled for us to leave. We started to walk away, but I turned to take one last look at Quinn. He was looking at his hand, and smiling.

We walked back down the street to where the limo had stopped. Clark had been quite the whole way back, and even when we got in the limo. I didn't care. I was still flying from my excitement in seeing Quinn. Not Quinn himself per-say, but the fact that if anyone could get me a knife, you know, one used for pledges, it would be Quinn. His job gave him access to all that sort of stuff. When we got to the store, I finally had had enough of Clark's silent treatment.

"Clark, why aren't you talking?" I said, but he just kept walking, slightly ahead of me. "Clark, stop, please. What. I don't get it. What's wrong?"

He finally stopped, and turned to face me. "Who was that?"

"Quinn, he's an old friend, sort of. Well, he's more of an ex. We didn't work out. I hadn't seen him in a while, and I saw that truck for his company. I heard he might be here in Vegas, but I never thought to look him up until I saw the truck."

"Oh, he's an ex is he? You that cozy with all your ex's?"

I couldn't help it, I totally laughed. "Are you jealous?"

"No, I'm not jealous, I'm just curious." At this point, we had made it to the store, and I was grabbing a cart.

"We dated. He ditched me. Came back to try to fix, but he had family issues that were in the way, so it didn't work out. Eric ordered Quinn to stay out of his area but he disobeyed. My other ex, Bill, came over to intercept Quinn from getting to me, they fought, knocked me out in the process. Eric eventually showed up, saw what happened to me from their fighting, and sent Quinn home with a broken jaw. Haven't seen him since." I paused, and took a look at Clark's expression, then headed towards the diary section.

"So what were you talking to him about, just catching up? It seemed like more." there was a hint of jealousy again in his voice.

"I asked him to do me a favor. I wanted to see if he could get his hands on something for me."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Nope. None of your business." And with that, we both dropped the subject. We spent the rest of our time in the store and on the way back to the hotel talking about tracking Brian.

Clark helped me carry my groceries back to my room, and told me he would let me know if Felipe needed us tonight, otherwise, he would call me in the morning, and we could follow Brian around for the day.

I put my groceries away, and checked the time. It was almost three in the afternoon now, and Eric should be up. I gave him a call, and he answered the first time.

"Eric, before you say anything, I have something I want to say. I'm sorry about last night. I got myself all worked up because I was upset about Brian. But thinking about it last night after our call, I had an idea. I was thinking that between now and when you get here, maybe we shouldn't talk. Make it more special when you get here. I will call if there is an emergency, but what if we did that? It would make you coming out here that much more special. Don't you think?" I paused, but he didn't respond, "Eric?"

"Yes, I'm here Lover. Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he responded. He didn't sound angry or upset about it, which was good.

"Well, not really, but I think this would be good. I don't think we have ever gone this long without speaking since we've been together. Like I said before, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

He laughed a little. "Yes, I suppose it does. I certainly know where your heart lies at least, so yes, if this is what you want to do, I will agree." He still had a slight laugh. I had no clue what he was talking about, but as long as he really was alright with this, so was I.

"Well, I will make this quick then I guess, and then I will see you in two weeks. Last night didn't go to well, but that's alright. Clark and I are going to trail Brian around as much as we can, and see if we can get any more info from him. I also might have some great news when you get here, so you can look forward to that. I will call you if there is an emergency or something, and you do the same alright?"

"Alright."

"I guess I can have Clark give you a call with the final details once we know them. Felipe said he should have all that stuff in a week, and they are starting the retrofit for my room in a few days."

"Lover."

"Yes?"

"I miss you, very, very much."

"I miss you to."

"Goodbye Lover." he said in his most seductive tone.

"Goodbye Eric. See you in two weeks." I started to tear up, but I stayed quiet about it.

"Until then Lover." he said, and we hung up the phone.

I cried a little at first. I missed him already, and we had only just hung up. I took a short nap, and woke up to my phone ringing.


	34. Chapter 38

**I totally lied. I've got 6 chapters tonight! Haha! I do payroll for a living, and I can't freaking count to six properly. LOL**

**I hate the end of the year.**

**Anyhow, Charlaine Harris owns the characters and story and whatnot, except for Clark, and Brian. Do you realize that if you take Brian, and then you take Clarks last name (Warner), do you realize that you get Brian Warner?**

**Do you know who Brian Warner is? I love him, and have tattoos of his albums and stuff he's drawn.**

**He's my future baby daddy. :) His song "Devour" inspired some of the later scenes, and some things from earlier. And well, a lot of this I guess in a way. There's a later chapter that I think I will post some of the words from the song.  
**

**Snoogans!  
**

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"Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Clark. We're off the hook with Felipe for tonight. I heard that him and Victor and a few of the sheriff's are going out alone, so Brian will be off too. I tried to see if he wanted to go somewhere, but he wasn't having it."

"Well crap, now what." I said.

"I don't know. We could hang out by his room, see if he leaves, and follow him if he does. If not, would you be able to hear him, you know, hear him like that, from outside his room?"

"Yeah, I should be able to. When do you want to meet?"

"I can come get you around nine? By then, we should know if he goes out or not, and the boss's should be gone."

"Sounds good, see you then" I said, and we hung up. I decided that it should try to sleep a little more, just in case we were out late. When I woke up, I got dressed in some jeans and a spaghetti strap tank top. I put on the running shoes I had gotten when I first got here. I finally had a chance to potentially use them. Clark came and got me, and said that Brian was still in his room. We headed down, and sat in the hall outside. I told Clark to be quite so that I could make sure I could hear him well enough. Normally, this probably wouldn't be a good place to hide out, but I would know if he was planning on leaving the room, and we could run if we needed to and hide.

We did this for a week. It was the most boring week ever. Felipe only needed me twice. Basically any free time Clark and I had was spent following Brian, or hanging out outside his room. Clark and I had started to really become friends again during that time. We just sat and talked outside Brian's room most days. We told each other our life stories pretty much. He didn't like hearing the Eric parts of mine to much, but he listened anyways. I asked how he ended up working for Felipe in the first place. Clark told me that he had been here in Vegas celebrating a friend's birthday, and fell in love with the city, so decided to move out here. He worked for a limo company, which paid pretty well. When the vampires came out of the coffin, he got put as the personal driver for Felipe because he was the only one in the company that wasn't afraid to do it. Not long after that, Felipe hired him personally, and he left the limo company. After that, he just worked his way on up.

It was a week before Eric was going to come out to visit, and on this particular night, Felipe needed me. I sat in on a meeting, with, big surprise, an investor. Only this guy wasn't looking for one, he had already had Felipe invest in his company, but I guess things weren't going as planned, and yadda yadda yadda. I made sure the guy was being honest with Felipe, and he was. I let Felipe know that when the guy left.

"So, Felipe, I was wondering about Eric coming? The retrofit on the windows is almost done in my room. Is everything else ready to go for him?" I said in my sweetest voice, and I smiled at him.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry Mees. Stackhouse. I completely forgot. It's almost three months? I have little concept of time, you understand. Three months in twenty-five hundred years is not much, you understand."

"No I suppose it wouldn't be." I said and giggled a little.

"But yes, it has been arranged. Jack, can you please get Mees. Stackhouse the travel information for Mr. Northman. Thank you."

Jack was Felipe's main day guy. He was in his late thirties from what I could guess, and average looking. He was one of those people who you would see, but could never really point out a feature about them, because they just looked average. Clark had said that was why Felipe liked having Jack as his main day guy. He didn't stand out, you know, just in case.

Jack went to his laptop, clicked around, and then the printer next to him came to life. He took the papers that had come out, and handed them to me. "Thanks Jack." I said, and he nodded his head at me.

"Well Mees. Stackhouse, I think that is all for you and Clark this evening. You may go now if you wish."

"Thank you Felipe, really, I appreciate everything you've done for me since I have been here, I really do." I wish that I could have hugged him just then. He had been nice to me, very nice. I couldn't help liking the guy regardless of how much I hated being here.

Felipe smiled at me, and then shooed us away, saying that we should go out and have fun. He didn't feel like we had enough fun.

Clark and left his room, and headed down to stalk Brian. When we got to his floor, he had already had dinner, and his room service cart was outside the door. We took a seat on the floor next to it, on the opposite side of his door. We could hear him yelling at someone on the phone, and I reached out to hear his thoughts. Oh gross!

Clark saw a look of disgust on my face, "What, who's he talking to?"

I looked over at Clark and just started laughing and he put his hand over my mouth. I seized up, but now I had a bad case of the giggles. I calmed down just enough to whisper what I heard to Clark.

"He's talking to an escort agency. He wasn't happy with his last girl, and that's all I'm saying. I'm a good girl, and I don't use that language, or talk nasty like that. My Gran would have my hide." I said, and started to giggle again.

Clark was putting his finger in front of his lips, to try to get me to be quieter, but I guess my giggles were contagious, because I could see him fighting back a laugh here and there. I was trying so hard to keep from laughing, I was turning beat red, and I could feel it. Clark reached out and poked my side with his finger, and it startled me, since I was looking at the plain wall to try to keep from laughing anymore, and I screamed, and then jerked into the room service cart, and knocked stuff all over the place on it, and dishes made a crashing noise as they fell off the cart. We both froze, and were completely silent. It wasn't funny anymore.

"Oh crap, he's coming out!" I whispered as urgently as I could to Clark. We jumped to our feet, and I barely had the chance to say "What do we do!" before he did something. Clark wrapped his right arm around my waist, pushed me back against the wall with his body, and planted one right smack on me.

I jerked at first, to try to get away, but he was thinking as loudly as he could "_Just go with it, trust me. Look natural Sookie."_

To let him know I heard, I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, and leaned my body into his. Clark was a good kisser. I was going with the flow. I really didn't have a choice. I just tried to keep my mind focused on Eric. Think about kissing Eric. I didn't even hear Brian come out of his room, but I heard him when he finally spoke up.

"What the hell!" he yelled at us.

Clark pulled away, slightly in a daze. I didn't want to listen to what he was thinking right now, but I had to keep my mind open so that I could listen to Brian.

"Sorry man." Clark said, shrugged his shoulders, and pulled me back to him. I smiled, and hid my face in his chest. He looked around and gave me a little squeeze. "Sugar, I think we got off on the wrong floor."

"Whatever Clark." Brian said, and went back into his room. As soon as his door shut, we took off running back to the elevator, and went back to my room. The second the door to my room shut, I screamed, and it startled Clark.

"What? What did you hear?" Clark asked in frustration. I was pacing back and forth in the living room area, in front of the couches. "Sookie, stop for a second! Tell me!"

"Well, the good news is, Victor's not going to try to kill Felipe. The bad news is, he's planning on killing everyone else basically. Probably so that Felipe doesn't have any backup to fight Victor with when he takes over Louisiana. That's the other good news, Victor, for now, just seems to want Louisiana. But I don't get why he would just take the one state? Why not just take both? I mean, he's going to basically strip Felipe of any major help that he would have."

"Victor hates Nevada. He's wanted out for years, but no one would take him, and he didn't want to lose the power that he already had gained from working for Felipe. Kinda sounds like he wants to have his own little piece." Clark chimed in.

"He does though already, that's what I don't get. He basically runs Louisiana for Felipe. Felipe never comes out there. It's for Victor to do with as he wants. Believe me."

"Maybe, but he's still technically under Felipe."

"That's true I guess."

"So now that we know all this, are you ready to go to Felipe?"

"No, not yet. It's still just stuff I've overheard. I don't want to go until we have some sort of proof for him or something. So that I know he won't confront Victor with it. At the very least, I want to wait until Eric is out here to say anything. Which reminds me, here." I reached into my pocket and took out the papers that Victors guy Jack had given me, and handed them over to Clark, who while I was on my little rant, had come over and stopped me from pacing, and was now standing in front of me. "Can you call Eric and give him this information for his trip. We aren't talking right now. But not in a bad way." I made sure to clarify that with him.

"Sure." Clark said. Whenever I brought up Eric, it always put Clark in a sour mood. I pretty much understood why, but it couldn't be helped. He pulled his phone out, and I gave him Eric's number. "Hi, Mr. Northman? Hi yes, this is Clark. I'm Sookie's assistant. She wanted me to call you regarding your travel information… Yes, are you ready?" Clark read off the travel info to Eric. I wanted to jump up and take the phone and say hello. I hadn't spoken to him in a week, and it was torture. I strained to hear him talking to Clark, but I couldn't. "Thank you Mr. Northman. Have a good evening." Clark said, and hung up the phone. I plopped down on the couch, and Clark took a seat next to me.

We were silent for a while, both in deep thought. I should have been thinking about Victor and what to do about his plan, but instead I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss between Clark and me. It really was the only thing we could have done to get us out of getting caught by Brian, and not raise suspicion. But it wasn't to terrible... oh great. What am I thinking. It wasn't Eric. Sookie, it wasn't Eric! I looked over at Clark. He really wasn't that bad. Sure, he had a bad habbit of kissing people who weren't his to kiss. And by people, I mean me. But he was nice, and he meant well.

I checked in on Clark's head out of curiosity, because I couldn't read his face. He was thinking what a good kisser I was.

"Thanks." I said aloud, and giggled a little. He blushed.

"Sorry. Couldn't help it." he replied.

"You're not so bad yourself. You're gonna make some girl really happy some day." I said, and patted his knee.

"Maybe, if she would give me the time of day." he said, and put his hand on top of the one I was patting his knee with. He squeezed.

"Oh Clark, please, not right now." and I tried to pull my hand away, but he gripped tighter.

"Sookie, I don't think it's any secret how I feel about you."

"No, it's not. But I'm with Eric right now. I care about Eric."

"Things change." he said. He stood up, and headed to the door. I followed him. "I guess I will see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure. More Brian detail?"

"Yeah." Clark opened the door and stepped outside. He turned back to me before he left, and caught me by surprise with a kiss on my cheek. I didn't react to positively like I heard him hoping I would, but I didn't yell at him like I had done before. I just wished him a good night in a semi-stern voice, and closed the door.

I went to bed, and had a dream about Eric. We weren't working for Felipe anymore, and he was taking me home to Bon Temps. It was wonderful.

* * *

**Okay, so I gave Felipe and age. I looked through the books he's been in to find out if it was ever mentioned, but I couldn't find anything.**

**If anyone knows, let me know please. LOL Thanks!  
**


	35. Chapter 39

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. But I own Clark! He's all mine.**

**Snoogans.  
**

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The next day was pretty normal for what I had been doing the last week. Clark and I were back to trailing Brian. That night, I worked for Felipe, if you call it that. This time, he wasn't meeting with any humans, only other vampires. They were talking about some ball for all the west coast kingdoms. Apparently this year, Felipe was playing host.

When we were done, I met back up with Clark, and we got back to work trailing Brian. As usual, he was in his room, and we were stationed outside it.

"Sookie, about last night."

"Clark, there isn't anything to talk about."

"Yes, there is. Look, I was thinking about it, and, well, I like you."

"Oh please, not now." I said, and shifted my body away from him.

"Yes, now. I like you Sookie Stackhouse. A lot. And I think you like me too. I.." he started to say and I cut him off.

"Where exactly did you get the idea that I liked you?" I said, in a harsh whisper to him.

"You can't tell me you didn't feel that between us last night."

"Felt what? There was nothing. We kissed to get out of getting caught lurking outside Brian's door. That was it. Understand?"

"Look, you can pretend that nothing happened there, but there was something, and you know it."

"There was nothing Clark, end of story." I said, and got up to walk away. I couldn't concentrate on Brian anymore. I got in the elevator, and headed back to my room. He was right though, I had felt something. But that something was missing Eric. I missed being held in his arms, and I missed his kisses, and I missed our nights together. The whole time I had been kissing Clark, I had been thinking of Eric. My thoughts had caused my body to betray me, and now Clark thought I had feelings for him.

Not long after I got to my room, Clark showed up.

Knock knock knock. "Sookie, please open the door. Look, I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but you have to face it." He was being as loud as he could right now. I opened the door to tell him off before one of the other guests called security on him, and got him in trouble with Felipe. Not that he didn't deserve that right now, but I needed his help with this whole Victor takeover plot mess.

"Will you shut up and get in here." I said when I finally opened the door. I grabbed his shit and yanked him in. "Look, I'm with Eric, you need to face that. He's going to be here in less than a week, and I won't have you ruining it!"

"Just admit that you felt something Sookie, that's all I'm asking."

I stomped over to the living room, and stood and looked out the giant window there that overlooked the strip. "I don't have feelings for you Clark." I said.

"Sookie, I know you do. I know it. I felt it. I know I'm not wrong damnit."

"I was thinking about Eric. The whole time. I'm sorry if I've led you on with that. I didn't mean to." I said, and felt a little guilty now. Sam was right, I sure know how to get myself into any trouble within fifty miles. "I don't think we should see each other outside of our work with Felipe. I will keep following Brian, but I will do it alone."

"But Sookie.." Clark started to say, but I cut him off.

"But nothing. You should leave." I was still looking out the window.

"No." he said, and stayed planted in his same spot behind me.

"Clark, I said leave, please."

"Nope."

"Oh my God Clark, get out!" I yelled, and turned to face him, and then he struck. He grabbed my waist, and pulled me to him. "Stop, let me go!" I said, pushing at his chest, but he wasn't budging, and he wasn't letting go. He waited for me to stop pushing and fighting against him, and then we just stared at each other. It was one of those kinds of stares you see on television or a movie, just before the couple start making out. But that didn't happen. We just stared at each other. The more that we stared, the calmer that I got.

I got to calm. "Clark, you should leave." I said, but he didn't budge. "Clark. I'm trying to be nice about this. Please, leave."

"I think I'm in love with you Sookie." he said. "There's something here, I feel it. I know it. I'm not crazy." he said, and released me.

I was in shock. I hardly knew him! He thinks he's in love with me? I was partly trying not to laugh, and partly trying not to cry.

"I'll leave. But I know I'm not wrong. You'll see it some day." he said, and let himself out.

I went over to the kitchen counter and started to fiddle with the roses that Eric had sent. I felt terrible. I felt confused. I didn't love Clark, and I didn't have feelings for him, but I had let my mind start to wander. I was thinking about being stuck here. Eric would lose interest. He wouldn't be able to be with me here all the time. I wouldn't ask him to drop his life to come be with me. We wouldn't work out in the end.

And then there was Clark. He was here, working for Felipe like I was. He was a nice guy, and I had meant it when I said that he would make some girl very happy some day. Who knows, if I never got out of here, maybe that would be me some day, like he said.

No. It wouldn't happen. I wanted to be with Eric. And I was sure that he wanted to be with me. I mean, for crying out loud, he stuck around for three months with me here in Vegas! I figured he was probably feeding from others, but I knew he had to. And I trusted him to be faithful. I didn't want to consider an alternate to that. Not again.

I went to bed, sad that I had hurt Clark, but with a new found resolve to get home, and to spend as much as my life that I could with Eric.

It was only four days now until Eric got here. I had to work for Felipe tonight. Well, I was meeting with him. More stuff with vampires about the ball that they were having for the west coast kingdoms. I think he was having me there at those meetings to show off, but I didn't mind. It was quiet time for me. A room full of people that I couldn't here. I didn't have to concentrate on blocking them or anything. I could just sit and relax, as long as Clark wasn't there.

When I got to Felipe's room, alone, he let me in and asked where Clark was. "Oh, I told him he didn't have to follow me tonight. I'm perfectly capable of making it here on my own and back." I said, and smiled to him. Felipe smiled back, and led me over to the couch, where he held all his meetings. I sat there and half listened to the meeting. Final arrangements were being made. The venue was all set, and the E(E)E had everything that they had requested, including the knife they needed to wed California with Oregon.

Wait, what?

The knife! So there were more! Perfect! Eric was able to sneak it away before, he could do it again! I tried not to show the excitement I was feeling on my face. I didn't want Victor, who was also in on this meeting, to get any ideas about what I was thinking. Play it cool Sookie, you can do this. It was taking everything in me not to jump up and say "Take that loser! I'm getting out of this God forsaken place!" Now I really needed to stay quiet to Felipe until after Eric got here. I started to formulate a plan in my head, and it was a good one. One that for sure would get me home, I just knew it.

After the meeting, when all the vamp representatives had left, I stayed a moment to talk to Felipe. "I was wondering, since Eric is going to be here, is he invited to the ball as well? As my date?"

Felipe chuckled a little, "But of course Mees. Stackhouse. Why would you think he wasn't? Didn't you get your invitation? I gave it to Clark to pass on to you."

"Oh, right. I forgot. Silly me. I'm just getting so excited about Eric coming out, things are slipping my mind." And apparently, they were slipping Clarks too.

Felipe came over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Mees. Stackhouse, you have been a loyal friend to me. As I have said before, anything you need while you are here, is yours, and anything that I can do to make you more comfortable will be done. Do you understand?"

I shook my head yes, and was on the verge of telling him about Victor, but it was still to soon. To much time from now until Eric got here that he could confront Victor, and Eric would end up dead dead.

He walked me to the door, and said good evening. When he closed it, I turned to start walking to the elevator, and Clark was there. I started to just walk past him, but he grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Let me go please." I said without looking at him. He didn't move, and he didn't say anything. "I said, please let me go." He released his grip, and I went to the elevator and took it back to my floor.

When I got to my room, I went in and went right to my phone. I asked for the number for the E(E)E, and the front desk connected me. The phone rang, but since it was after normal business hours, it went to an automated answering service. It had an option for company directory, so I used that to find Quinn's line. It transferred me to his voicemail, "Quinn, it's Sookie. I need to talk to you. I was hoping to hear from you by now, but I haven't. Just wondering what you were up to, and if you had any leads on what we talked about. Call me."

I had left the message in the sweetest voice I could manage, but the second I hung up the phone I was furious. Quinn's company had one of the knifes, and he didn't tell me they had gotten it. Even if they needed to use it for the ball, he could have at least given me the heads up that it was in town. What if I hadn't overheard that detail tonight, I might not have known it was there until it was to late to do anything about it.


	36. Chapter 40

**One more after this!**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. I'm not sure if I want to take credit for Clark anymore. LOL**

**Snoogans.  
**

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Before I went to bed, I broke my rule, sort of, and called Pam.

"Sookie, how lovely to hear your voice. We miss you around here, although, the new bartender Adam doesn't. He's excited to not have you around to cause his true death."

I chuckled a little. "It's good to talk to you too Pam. And I'm glad that Adam has some time to relax before my return. Listen, I know you need to get to bed soon, but I just wanted you to pass along a message to Eric for me, could you do that?"

"Of course."

"Can you tell him to make sure he brings a tuxedo? Or a nice suit? I don't know, whatever he would wear to a ball. There is going to be one the first full night he's here, and we are invited."

"Yes, I will make sure he packs something appropriate. Would you like to speak with him? He's here with me. I'm at his home, and we are working on the books. It's so much fun, I don't know what I was thinking trying to talk my way out of it this evening."

"No, we aren't talking until he gets here."

"Hmm, I see. Well that explains his mood the last week. Would you like me to pass along a message to him then?" she asked, and then I could tell Eric was talking to her, but I couldn't hear what he was saying, only Pam's response, which was a good indication, and it made me chuckle. "No, Sookie says you are not speaking, and does not wish to speak with you right now. (brief pause) She is my friend too, and if she tells me not to hand you the phone, I will not."

Eric could have just forced her to, but I was glad that he didn't.

"Pam, it was nice talking to you. I think I'm going to let you go before Eric breaks our deal. Good night Pam. Oddly enough, I find that I miss having you around."

"I agree. This place is no longer fun with you missing. Good night Sookie."

I hung up the phone, and was in a much better mood now in speaking with Pam. Speaking of clothes for the ball, I got up and went to my closet. I had bought an evening dress when I had first arrived, but it wasn't the type of dress you would wear to a ball. When I had got here, I had gotten some clothes on Felipe's dime. When the bill had come for what I spent, Felipe insisted that I go out and get more clothes. He didn't think I spent nearly what I should have, and that I didn't have to be that modest. At first, I just nodded and agreed to get more clothing, even though I didn't actually intend to. After another two weeks or so, he had noticed that I hadn't spent any more money on clothing, so he demanded that I do. After that, I started buying a few outfits here and there, and now I was at the point that I was buying clothes at least once a week. It seemed the more that I spent, the happier Felipe was. It was nice to be spoiled rotten. This was totally against my personality, but it was nice to be treated like a princess every now and then, and I considered this to be one of those "now" situations. I went to bed, and decided that I needed to get up early for shopping, and to avoid Clark.

The next morning I was up and out the door before ten. I started out going around the stores at the mall that was attached to the hotel, but I didn't have any luck. I went to the front desk, and they had the limo brought up for me. I asked the driver where a good place was to find a dress for a ball, and he took me over to the Forum Shops. I spent the entire day there. I went into almost every store. I did mostly window shopping, but I did find some cute things to wear including some very sexy lingerie that was very un-me, but that I was sure Eric would love. I felt very sexy in it, and that was exactly what I wanted to have him see me feeling when he finally got here.

I was almost to the end of the shops when I found my dress. I was just about to give up hope when I saw it staring at me from the window of one of the last stores. It was strapless, a beautiful shade of deep purple, and it sparkled slightly. It was tight at the top and down to the waist, and then it spread out like Scarlette O'Hara's green taffeta dress did on Gone With the Wind, only not as stiff. This dress flowed. I practically ran into the store. There was a very lovely woman behind the counter who helped me with the dress, and I tell you, I looked so beautiful. I didn't want to take it off. She matched it with some heels the same shade of purple. She made suggestions for my hair and for jewelry that were helpful. It was the only dress that I tried on that day, but once I had it on, I knew it was the one. She rang me up, and was going to have it delivered since it was to large, and to heavy for me to just carry out of here.

I got back to my room at around seven that night. I was exhausted from my day of shopping. I checked the messages on my phone, and found that Clark had called to tell me that I had the night off. What I was upset about was that I didn't have a message from Quinn. Well, no matter. At least I knew there would be one of the knives at the ball, and I could tell Eric about it when I got here.

I was feeling good. Eric would be here in three days now. I had gone three months without seeing him, three days was going to be a piece of cake. I also had completely gotten over the whole Clark incident. Well, almost. I still felt terrible about how I reacted, you know, the whole kissing him back, and taking it to a whole different level on the couch, but I couldn't do anything about it now, and I wasn't going to tell Eric about it over the phone, if at all. I still wasn't totally sure I was going to keep it from him, but I wanted to wait until we at least had a chance to have one happy moment when he got here. I got ready for bed, had dinner brought up to me, and was pretty much asleep when my head hit the pillow that night.

The next night, I did have to work but it was easy. Again, more sitting in with Felipe on the final details of the ball. He made sure to include me in the conversations, and even asked about the dress that I bought. I told him it was a surprise, but that he would love it. When the meeting was over, he let me know that after tonight, I was off work until Eric left unless there was an emergency. Little did he know, there probably would be one, but I couldn't talk about that with him yet.

The next morning the construction guys from the hotel were putting up the finishing touches in my room for the black out so that Eric could stay with me. I decided to spend the day in my room to make sure that there was not one little peep of sunlight during different times of the day. At night, some of the panels could be removed to allow for a view of the strip, but most of them were stuck in place until it was time for them to be completely removed. I normally don't do this, but I stayed in my pajamas all day. It was nice. I watched some old movies in my room, and then decided to call it an early night so that I could get up early and get the finishing touches for my outfit for the ball.

I was woken up with a start in the middle of the night. It was pitch black in my room, but I could tell there was someone in there with me. It was a vampire.


	37. Chapter 41

**Last one. Will post more on Saturday evening.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans!  
**

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I froze, and was on the verge of screaming, when all of the sudden, whoever was there kissed me. I recognized that kiss. I missed that kiss. I did nothing but dream about that kiss for the last three months. I instantly started to cry. I reached my hands out and wrapped them around Eric's neck, and he leaned over and got into bed on top of me. I broke away from his lips and just hugged him as close to me as I could. Neither of us spoke at first. We just laid there. He didn't have his full weight on me, but just enough pressure so that I felt secure beneath him.

He sensed my tears and started to kiss my cheeks. I couldn't believe that he was here. I didn't want to turn the light on in case I was dreaming this, and he vanished. I could feel his long hair falling around my face. We stayed like that for at least twenty minutes before I finally spoke.

"Are you really here?" I said finally. I could feel a small grumble of laughter in his chest, and I hugged him closer to me.

"Yes Lover, I'm really here."

"How? I don't understand. You weren't supposed to be here for a few more days."

"I got my chance to speak with Felipe. He made a change to my travel date, and made sure that the hotel finished their renovation of your room in time. He's very fond of you. He was happy to have me come and surprise you."

"I'm not going to survive if you have to leave. I can tell you that right now. I won't be able to take being left here alone again." I said, and started to cry to myself again.

"Lover, don't worry about such things. I just got here. Be happy, please, for me. No sad tears right now." and he started back with the kisses on my cheeks and lips. He stopped for a moment, and I felt his weight shift as if he was going to get out of bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, and gripped him tighter.

"I want to turn on the light so you can see I'm not a dream." he said and chucked. He was teasing me.

Oh crap! I hadn't done a thing to myself today. I knew I looked horrible, and I didn't want him to see me for the first time in three months looking like this. "No! Don't do that, let me fix myself first."

He laughed again, "Lover, you are always beautiful." And with that, he leaned towards the light again. As his weight shifted off me, I took my opportunity to wiggle out from under him, and take off to the bathroom. I could hear him laughing as I ran.

I came out about ten minutes later feeling a lot better. I took a quick shower, did a quick shave on my legs, brushed out my wet hair, and brushed my teeth. I had been wearing some sweats and a Fangtasia shirt Eric had sent me after I got out here, and decided to come back out in just the shirt. I took a look at the time when I did, and realized that it was close to dawn. Eric was laid out on my bed now, in nothing but his boxer-briefs, and his eyes shot to me as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom. He had lit the fireplace that was in my room, and kept the light off so that the fire was the only light in the room. I got back into bed with him, and curled myself up next to him. I wrapped my arm over his body, and he turned to face me, propping himself up on his elbow as he liked to do. He put his arm over me and his leg, practically enveloping me.

"Do we have time?" I asked as I pressed my body into his, and started to kiss his neck. I found that was a particularly vulnerable spot for Eric, just like my ears were for me. He shifted slightly in bed, and made a bit of a growling noise. His arm pulled me closer to him, and he inhaled my sent.

"Not much. I'm afraid that I might hurt you if we have to rush this Sookie, it's been a while." and as he said that, I could feel on my leg what my kisses on his neck were doing to him.

I stopped kissing his neck and looked up at him, "But I know you won't." I said, and then I went back to kissing. He started to rock against me, and I could tell that me being coy about what I wanted was wasting time, so I gave his neck a little nibble. Eric's body shuddered all over, and before I knew it, he was on top of me, kissing me everywhere, and he was reaching for my panties with his free hand. When he didn't find any he stopped his kisses and looked at me.

"I was just trying to save some time, and a perfectly good pair of underwear." I said, and smiled at him. He let out a laugh from deep in his gut, and I started to tug at his boxer-briefs. He shimmied out of them the rest of the way. I started to take off the shirt I still had on, but he stopped me.

"Leave it on. You look sexy in my shirt." he said, and went back to kissing my neck, working his way up to my ear, and kissing me just below my lobe, and behind my ear. He moved his hand up under my shirt, and started to squeeze my breasts and graze my nipples with his thumbs. I was more than ready at this point, and I let him know it by thrusting my hips in his direction. "Are you ready?" he asked, and I nodded my head, and pulled him back down to me.

He entered me as gently as he could. Eric was a lot to take in, and he knew it, and since it had been a while for us, he was trying to take it slow so that he wouldn't hurt me. I would be lying if I said it wasn't a bit of a shock when he started to move, but it wasn't anything I wasn't used to. I let him know I was alright, and that it was okay to speed things up, by pushing my hips up to meet his faster than he was meeting mine.

He stopped his movement after a moment, and looked down at me. "Lover, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm more than alright Eric." I said, and I moved a little to signal for him to continue. "Bring it."

His resolve after that changed, and he went from being gentle, to being a little rough, but not hurting. He quickened his pace, and I did what I could to keep up. I could feel myself reaching the end, and I started to dig my nails into his back. This started to send him over the edge.

"Lover." he started, and I could see him starting to falter.

"Now Eric." I said back, and he thrust into me a few final times as hard as he could, and that sent me over the edge, and then himself.

He collapsed on top of me, back in the same position, almost, as when he had first surprised me this evening. Both of us were experiencing aftershocks of the quake that we had just had together. It was blissful. We laid like this for a few minutes before Eric moved off me, and I pulled the blanket up over us. He settled back into his favorite position with me, well hopefully not his favorite, but one of them, propped up on his elbow, arm over my waist, and leg thrown over mine. I curled back up into the little nook this created for me.

Dawn was starting to come, and I could tell because he was fighting to stay awake. He had done this once before when we were at the cabin, and I knew it was a losing battle for him, but it was sweet that he was trying to stay awake for me. I knew it was taking a lot of effort. The drive for him to sleep when the sun rose was undeniable. I made sure to have him relax in a position that I could easily get out of if I needed to get up for any reason, and then I cuddled back against him. As I could see him dozing off, I whispered to him, "I missed you." and I gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you Lover." and he gave me a quick squeeze, and then he was out. I followed shortly after.

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**Eeeekkk! I hope ya'll enjoyed that. I couldn't leave until Saturday without getting to this part.**

**Now I have to spend some of my evening finishing this darn thing, cause ya'll are catching up QUICK!**

**I hope their first night back together was acceptable. :)**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies! See ya'll on Saturday!  
**


	38. Chapter 42

**Well, I got home from work a LOT earlier than I expected, and don't have to leave to pick up my friend from the airport for another 20 minutes, so I'm posting!**

**Surprise! Happy Thursday! LOL**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies.  
**

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I woke up at around noon to the phone ringing. I leaned over Eric, and picked it up.

"Hello?" I said in a low tone. I knew it wasn't going to wake Eric, but I was still quiet anyway.

"Sookie, it's Clark. Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but it's alright. What do you need?"

"I had a message from Felipe this morning, It said that he hoped you liked your surprise, and that he would see you at the ball. What surprise did he send you?"

"Eric."

"Oh. Is he there now?" he asked, sounding a little pitiful.

"Yes, he's sleeping. Oh, and that reminds me, Felipe said he gave you an invitation for me and Eric for the ball, but you never gave it to me. Do you still have it?"

"Yeah, sorry. I can bring it to you."

"No, I will come to you. Listen, you want to meet for a late lunch? Say, an hour from now?"

He agreed, and we arranged to meet at the café at the hotel. I climbed out of bed, and went to the bathroom to get ready. I needed a shower to help me wake up, and then I tossed on some jean shorts and a t-shirt that I found in Eric's bag. I wanted to have his sent on me. I wasn't sure if Clark would be able to pick up on it, but I wanted it there just the same.

I headed down to the café, and Clark was already waiting there for me. When I walked up to him, he started to make like he wanted a hug, but I stopped short, and his arms went down. He reached into his back pocked and pulled out the invitation to hand to me. I took it, and put it in my purse. He led us in to a table that he had been sitting at before I got there. He had ordered me an ice tea with lemon, and it was waiting for me when we got to the table. We sat down, and I started to add a little sugar to my tea.

"So, Eric got here a few days early?"

"Yep, apparently he called Felipe to ask if he could surprise me, and Felipe agreed."

"That was nice of him."

"Yep, sure was." I was responding to him a little tartly. I was all business right now. I had a purpose for coming to meet him. The waiter came around with menus, and Clark ordered our usual for us. Normally, I would have been okay with that. We ate here once a week, and had pretty much settled into our favorite meals from here. But today, it was irritating, but I didn't stop him.

While we were waiting for our usual lunch, I started the conversation.

"Look, Clark, I wanted to meet with you because I have a few things I wanted to let you know now that Eric is here."

"Go ahead." he said with a sigh. I could hear him thinking that he knew what was coming. I was going to break up with him, or tell him that we shouldn't see each other again until Eric leaves. What did he mean by break up? There was no "us" to break up at all. And I couldn't really avoid him, even thought I really wanted to, but I knew that we would have to be around each other at the ball at the very least.

"Okay, I just wanted to give you fair warning that I'm going to be telling Eric about what happened between you and me." I almost said "us" but that would be driving home the point that he had made in his head that there was an "us" to break up. "Also, I would appreciate it if you left us alone as much as possible. I understand that I'm off work for Felipe until Eric leaves, unless there is an emergency, and except for the ball, but I want you to know that unless it's one of those situations, I don't want to see you while he's here."

"What about telling Felipe about Victor?"

"I think it would be best to do that just before the ball, but as of right now, I'm planning on going to him alone. I trust now that he will believe me without having to have you there. I don't want you saying anything to him on the subject until I've had a chance to talk to him about it."

He made a motion with his hand over his lips like he was zipping his mouth shut, and then locking it.

"Thank you Clark. I appreciate your cooperation in this. And as for telling Eric, I can't promise that he won't want to kill you, but I will make sure he doesn't."

I was staying as neutral toned as possible to let Clark know that I was serious. Clark simply nodded his head, and kept his eyes down. Our lunch arrived, and we ate in silence. When we were done, I paid the bill, and got up to leave. But before I did, I realized that Clark was really looking pitiful. I stopped on my way out, and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I'm sorry about the way things turned out." I said, and walked back to my room.

It was going to be a few hours before Eric woke up, and I wanted to make sure that I could stay awake as much of tonight as I could. I hopped into bed with him. I curled up next to him, placing myself in his arms as best I could in his dead state, and fell asleep.

I woke up to a kiss, like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. It was wonderful. I started to kiss back, and still hadn't opened my eyes. I was afraid I was dreaming again, like I had the night before, and I didn't want it to be a fantasy.

The kissing stopped, and I heard Eric chuckle. "Lover, it's safe to open your eyes, I won't disappear." he said, and pulled me in close to him. I opened my eyes to see his face, and I smiled.

"I missed this. A lot." I said, and hugged myself to him as closely as I could get.

"So, did absence really make your heart grow fonder?"

"Oh most definitely." I said, and kissed him lightly on his lips. We just cuddled like that for a while.

Eric was the first to finally speak up. "So, tell me what has happened in the last two weeks. Anything new from your stalking?"

"Well, we found out that Victor is planning on talking over Louisiana only. I think that he's going to make his move at the ball tomorrow night. He's planning on getting rid of Felipe's sheriffs here in Nevada so that Felipe can't retaliate right away. That's basically it. We haven't gotten much else from Brian."

Eric sighed, even thought technically he didn't have to breathe, it was more of an automatic response left from when he was human I think, or something that he did to blend in with humans before vampires came out of the coffin. "So, have you told Felipe any of this?" he asked.

"No, I wanted to wait until the ball. I wasn't sure before, but I think I'm going to speak to him alone before we leave tomorrow. That way, he can be on guard, and give his sheriff's enough warning to be on alert for Victor. After that, I don't know."

"I see." Eric said, and I could tell he was thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

"There's something else about the ball tomorrow that I think you should know." I said, and Eric looked down at me and cocked his eyebrow in that way that was totally adorable and sexy at the same time. "I ran into Quinn a few days ago…"

"The tiger? Really. Was his jaw healed?" Eric asked, with a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, he was just fine. But I asked him to do me a favor, that technically he followed through on, but didn't let me know. I had to find out from Felipe that what I asked for was here. Although, I don't think it's cause I asked, it was brought here specifically for the ball."

I had peeked Eric's curiosity, and he turned to face me on his side. He raised both eyebrows at me now, as a sign to continue.

"Well, tomorrow, the ball is for all the west coast kingdoms to meet up, and do, I don't know what. But one of the things taking place is a marriage between Northern California and Oregon." I said, hoping that he got the hint from that. But instead I found that once he was on his side, he had a perfect view of my body, and had shifted focus now. "Eric, can you pay attention to me for five more minutes please?" I said, and reached up my hand to push his chin back up to look me in the face.

"Continue." he said once our eyes met again.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Northern California and Oregon are getting married tomorrow night!" It took him a minute, but it finally sunk in, and he smiled. "So, do you think you could get your hands on it again? You managed to last time." I asked.

"I can promise you that I will do whatever it takes to 'get my hands on it' Lover. But right now, there is something else I would like to 'get my hands on' first." he said, and started to caress my side, then move his hand over my stomach, and up to my breasts, over my top. I had taken off my shorts to climb back into bed with Eric, but left the shirt that I had taken from Eric's bag when I left earlier to meet up with Clark. He noticed what I had on finally.

"Lover, did you borrow something from me?" he asked, with a wicked little smile on his face, eyebrow raised back up again.

"I had to leave for a little bit earlier, and I wanted to take something of you with me." Okay, so I was lying, a little, but it was partly true. I just didn't want to tell him yet why I wanted to have something of his on me.

"Where did you go today?" he asked, and took a whiff of my skin to see if he could tell who or what I had been around. His nose nuzzled up to my neck made me squirm a little. It tickled in a good way. A very good way. He noticed, and dropped the subject of where I had been, and continued with his previous venture. He kissed my neck where he had smelled me, and then moved a little further up to my ear, and was breathing hot air, then blowing cool air just behind my ear. It was driving me crazy!

I pulled my body closer to his, and urged him take this further, quickly. I insisted this time on taking off his shirt, and since he hadn't gotten dressed after our time together last night, he was ready to go. I pushed him over onto his back, and climbed on top of him. I leaned down to kiss his chest, and was working my way down when he had finally had enough of the foreplay. Now he was struggling to flip me onto my back, and if he had really tried, he would have been successful, but instead we got locked in a bit of a power play, each trying to take the other. He was fighting against me just enough to keep me from winning, but at the same time, I wasn't losing. We rolled around the bed like this, laughing and playing, and trying to distract the other into submission until I rolled us over one to many times, and splat, off the bed we went, and smack onto the floor. At the first sense of the fall, Eric twisted so that his back took the impact instead of me. When we landed, I lost it. I got a serious case of the giggles, and couldn't stop. I buried my face in his chest, and just laughed. Eric laughed with me at first, and then turned serious.

"Sookie." he said, and pulled my face up to meet his. "Do you love me?"

"What?" I asked. I was a little taken aback at the change in direction this had taken.

"Do you love me, Sookie?" he asked again.

"Eric, I thought we had this conversation already." I said, and started to straighten up, but he pulled me back to him.

"I want you to tell me. Has what you felt before changed?"

"Well… no." I said, not sounding to sure of my answer.

Eric rolled us over on the floor so that he was on top of me now. "Tell me Sookie, the real words this time."

"Why don't you say them!" I said in frustration. Eric was sitting up now, and pinning me in place. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my head to the side. This sent Eric into a fit of laughter. "I don't see what's so funny Eric." I said in a pout. This was positively driving me bonkers.

On the night I found out where Debbie Pelts body was buried on my property, Eric had asked me this same question. Albeit, it was in a slightly more precarious situation, it wasn't far off from this one, except for at the time, I was under the influence of the blood bond, and he was on his knees, between my legs. I don't remember that either of us had actually said 'I love you', but we had figured that what we shared was love, or as close to love as you could get. Now, blood bond was gone, pledge was gone, I wasn't being coerced by his roaming fingers in spots that drove me crazy. It was just me and him, alone, totally emotionally and physically bare for the most part.

I was starting to build a wall. With everything that was going to happen in the next day or two, I didn't want to enter a pledge with Eric under the impression that this was a real marriage. Sure, I cared about Eric, a lot. I would do almost anything for him. I did feel that I loved him on some level, but I didn't want it to be like this. I wanted us to have some normalcy to our lives before we got to this part of 'us'. I didn't want to tell him I loved him, only to be heartbroken when he had to leave, or if something happened to either of us. Or what if when I told him about what Clark had done and said. What if he left me, right after we said 'I love you'. I couldn't bare that thought. I had been heartbroken, badly, twice, by the first man I ever said those words to. I know that Eric isn't Bill, but with my track record so far with men, I didn't want to go to the 'I love you' place yet with Eric until I knew what was going to happen with this situation here in Nevada. I went back to thinking of the fears that I had when I was with Clark. I wouldn't expect to have Eric waiting around for me, or getting himself killed trying to get me out of here. I just wasn't ready to say anything to Eric yet.

"Sookie, what is going on in your head? You have a dozen emotions running across your face." he said, looking down at me quizzically, eyebrow once again arched.

"Look, I just don't want to say anything until we know what's going to happen, and that's all you're getting from me tonight, understand?"

"You love me. I can see that, but if you don't want to say it yet, I won't push you again. Tonight anyway." he said, and smiled at me, and then dove back in to continue what he had started.

We spent most of the night in bed. I had asked him a few times if he wanted to go out and walk around the strip, or we could take the limo somewhere, but he insisted that the only thing he wanted to do while he was here, was me. That made me laugh, because even for Eric, it was quite straight forward, and a little on the trashy side. But I insisted that he demonstrate, and he did, quite happy to comply with the request. The only time that we did get out of bed that night was so that I could get something to eat. I had only had lunch that day, with Clark, and I was starving. I ordered us some room service, a veggie and fruit plate for me, and some True Blood for Eric. I had asked if he wanted my blood, but he said that he wanted to make sure I was on top of my game tomorrow night for the ball, in case anything happened. Then he asked if I would take his blood, to be even more on top of my game, in case anything happened.

After fighting him on it a little, I finally agreed that at some point tonight or tomorrow before the ball, I would take his blood. I tried to insist that he take mine if I was going to take his, but he refused flat out.

After we ate, we laid on the couch for a while. Eventually, my human needs were getting the best of me, and I was starting to doze off. I asked Eric to wake me if he saw me starting to fade, but he wasn't. He said that I needed my sleep, to which I replied that I could sleep during the day, and I didn't want to miss any time with him while he was awake. That was pretty much the last thing I remembered.


	39. Chapter 43

**Eeeekk! I totally was away longer than I said I would be. Sorry. Holidays. Crazyness. You understand.**

**So as a sorry, I'm posting a LOT today. **

**Thanks for the love BTW.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, except for Clark, he's mine, and I know I've been getting a lot of messages that ya'll dont like him, but to the one person who does, THANKS! I think he needs a girlfriend to. LOL**

**Snoogans.  
**

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I woke up around ten in the morning, in bed, with Eric, who was sound asleep. I gave him a little smack on the arm for letting me just fall asleep when I had specifically requested that he help keep me awake. I stretched, and got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Once I was done in there, I ordered up some breakfast and had a seat in the living room. I noticed the message light on the phone blinking, so I checked it.

"_Hey Sookie, it's Clark. So for tonight, Felipe wants us in his room at ten pm sharp, and then we are heading over to the ball together. That includes Eric in case you were wondering. And just a word of warning, Victor will be there. Call me if you need anything."_

Alright, so that means that I need to get to Felipe as soon as possible. The goal was to get with him before we left, but if that didn't work, I needed to corner him as soon as possible at the ball. Now that it was the day of the ball, I was starting to get nervous. I fidgeted around the room for the majority of the morning. Finally at around one in the afternoon, I decided to try to get some sleep in so that I wasn't tired for tonight.

I woke up around four, with Eric still dead asleep. It was time for me to start getting ready for the evening, especially if I was going to try to meet up with Felipe before the ball. I took a shower, and then got dressed in my regular clothes, and headed down to the floor that had the spa on it for the appointment that I had made for my hair, nails, and makeup. I hadn't done this since I had stayed with Alcide in Jackson, and his sister treated me. After that was done with, I headed back to the room to finish getting ready, which basically consisted of me putting the dress on, but it was quite a dress, and I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get into it myself. It took a good ten minutes with help from the lady at the shop I bought it from. I walked in the bedroom to find Eric awake, drinking a True Blood.

He looked over at me and smiled when he saw my hair all done up, make up on, and nails polished. "Lover, you look beautiful." he said, and raised his eyebrow the way he does when he's curious, or horny. I was guessing this particular raise was because of the latter.

"Don't you even think about it mister!" I said, and shook my finger at him. It made him laugh. "I just spent two hours in the salon getting ready, and I don't want you messing it up. It's perfect right now, and I want it to stay that way as long as possible."

I went into the bathroom to check myself in the mirror again before I started to get ready, and Eric followed me in. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I stared at us in the mirror, trying to take a mental picture of this moment. Who knew what was going to happen tonight.

"Don't worry, we will be fine Lover." he said, sensing my anxiety starting to rise now that night was here, and the ball was only a few hours away. I relaxed back into his body, and he wrapped his arms tighter around me. He dipped his head to kiss my neck, and I pulled away.

"I want you to take my blood." he said very seriously. I knew he wasn't going to let me leave the room without it happening, and I had told him that I would.

"Fine. But let's do this in the living room." I said, thinking that would help keep us from having sex. But then I realized that we could get just as carried away out there as we could in the bedroom.

We headed out, and he sat on the couch. He tried to pull me to sit on his lap, but I sat next to him instead. I leaned against his side so that my back was to him, and I pulled his arm around me. I pulled his wrist to my mouth, and bit. Eric moaned, and then with his other arm reached over and pulled me practically on top of him. He started to nuzzle the back of my neck, and I could feel his fangs brushing against my skin. I took one final draw as the wound I had created closed up, and then jumped up off Eric. He was panting, and I could see he was very very horny.

Eric stood up and grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. "Eric," I said, and giggled. "If there was something we could do and you could promise that you wouldn't mess up my hair and makeup, I would be more than willing right now."

"If I promise not to touch you, there is something we could do." he said, and wagged his eyebrows at me as he sat back on the couch. He undid his jeans, and pulled them down just enough to let himself free of his denim prison. I smiled and knelt in front of him.

"No touching." I said with a smile before I took him in. He kept his word, and the couch cushion got torn a little, but I was intact when he was done.

"Your turn Lover." he said, and pulled me down to the couch. I giggled, and in a moment, he was down between my legs, my shorts and panties were gone. He brought me to the edge rather quickly and I fell off it with a scream that I was sure was going to prompt a call to security by one of the other guests.

As soon as I got my wits back, I kissed Eric, and told him I had to get ready now if I was going to be able to speak with Felipe before we left. He followed me to the bathroom, read to take me again. His hands where all over me from the neck down as I tried to get him out of the bathroom.

"I said no more funny business! Now scoot!" I said to him, with a big smile on his face. I did love the playful moments with Eric. I could tell he loved them too. He didn't put up much of a fight after that, and I shooed him out of the bathroom, and followed him. He went to lay on the bed, and I stopped him. "Don't lay down, I need to get changed. Out to the living room."

"But I want to watch you change." he said with a pout.

"Nope, you don't get to see me till I'm done." I waited, but he didn't move. "Out!" I said, and pointed my finger out the door. He dropped his head, and started to walk to the door. As he passed me, he pinched my butt and made me give a little scream, and he laughed as he walked out the door.

I went to the closet, and pulled the dress out of the giant box it had been delivered in. It was practically standing up in the box so that the bottom didn't lose any of it's fullness. I found a wire hanger from some dry cleaning that I had sent out, and bent it into a shape that would allow me to get the dress zipped up on my own. It took me nearly twenty minutes to do it myself, but I finally got the dress all the way on. I went into the bathroom and gave myself a once over before I went into the living room to see Eric. My dress was so beautiful. I had hardly any makeup on. Just some mascara, eyeliner, and a little pale purple eye shadow. The lady at the salon had done a clear gloss on my lips, and given me a small tube so that I could reapply when needed. My hair was done in an intricate bun, high up on the back of my head. There were a few strands on the sides coming out in giant curls. They had put a small clip at the top of the bun, just peaking over the top of my head, that was covered in rhinestones. My dress

I opened up the bedroom doors, and peeked my head out. Eric was sitting on the couch watching the news, but when I stepped out, his attention quickly went to me, and the look on his face made me blush a little. My dress rustled as I walked out of the bedroom, and towards the open area between the couch and the television that was mounted on the wall. Eric didn't move, he just sat there, mouth open slightly, not taking his eyes off me for a second. I spun around once for him, and then stopped to face him.

"Well, do you like it?" I asked, because Eric was still staring at me, catching flies. He stood up, and in a movement to quick for me to see, was suddenly right in front of me. He took my hand, and motioned for me to spin again, so I complied. When I was facing him again, I lowered my head and blushed. I wasn't sure how I had expected him to react, but this was very flattering.

He stood there for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "You're beautiful." he whispered.

"Thanks. Okay, it's time for you to start getting ready, and I need to head down to see if Felipe is here, and in his room." I said, and started to take a step towards the door, but Eric, still holding my hand, pulled me back. "Eric, what? We have to get going."

"No, wait just a minute." he said, and pulled me to him.

"Eric, really. This is cute, but I have to go. I laid out your tux for you, go change." I said, and gave him a little pat on his butt. Gosh I loved that butt. I really wanted to give it a little squeeze, but then we would never leave. Eric was still holding me close to him, and I could tell I wasn't going to get away now without at least a kiss, so I pushed myself up on my tip toes, and he lowered his head enough so that I could give him a peck on the cheek, and then took his hands from behind me, and pried them loose. He was a little resistant at first, but finally broke his grip. I kissed him again, just a quick peck on the lips, and headed to the door. "Meet me in Felipe's room alright? It's room 2256, two floors down." I stopped at the door and took another look at Eric. I was so much happier now that he was here. I ran back over to him and gave him another kiss on the lips, except this time I lingered a little, and then left to go meet with Felipe.

I got down to his room, and knocked on the door. To my relief, Felipe answered. To my dismay, when I walked in, there were already a few vampires there, including Victor.

"Mees. Stackhouse! You are a vision!" he said as he led me in. I did a slight bow to him, and then smiled.

"Thank you Felipe. Do you really like?" I asked as I did a spin, just like I had done for Eric. I felt like a princess in this dress.

"Yes, very much. I might just dis-invite Eric so that I can take you as my own companion for the evening." and he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I didn't mind his kiss at all, but it made me sad instead of happy. I needed to talk to him as soon as possible, alone, and I needed to let him know this as quietly as possible. Which was going to be hard considering I was in a room full of vampires with stellar hearing. "Speaking of Eric, where is he? Is he not joining us?"

"Oh no, he's getting ready now. I wanted to come speak with you about something in private before we left. It's concerning Clark. Is there somewhere we could go?" I asked, hoping that by saying Clark anyone listening would lose interest. And by anyone, I meant Victor mostly.

I think Felipe could see the slight sense of urgency I was trying to portray on my face. He stared at me for a moment, and then took my elbow. "Of course, come with me." he said, and we left the room, and headed down the hallway.

"Would it be safe for us to speak in Clark's room?" I whispered to him once we were a good hundred feet from Felipe's door. He nodded, and we continued down the hallway. We got to Clarks door, and I knocked, and knocked, and knocked, until Clark opened the door. He looked like he was ready to go to the ball already, so I didn't feel to bad kicking him out of his own room.

"Hi Clark, I need you out for a minute." I said, and pushed my way in the door and Felipe followed. Clark looked shocked, and was standing there staring at me with his mouth wide open. I made a shooing motion with my hand, and gave him a 'can't you tell what I'm trying to do here?' look. Which caused him to think if I was trying to tell Felipe about what Victor was planning.

"That's exactly right Clark, now, can you give us some privacy please?" I said.

It took Clark a second to realize that I was answering the question that he hadn't asked aloud. He nodded to me, and then did a slight bow for the king, and left.

I turned back to Felipe, and asked him to have a seat, and I went to sit next to him. He could see the worry that was flooding my face, and he took my hand.

"Mees. Stackhouse, please tell me what's the matter." he said in a soothing voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't do this sooner. Felipe, I don't know how to say this to you, but I want you to know that I only waited this long to make sure that Eric and I were safe. You need to understand that I really like you a lot, and I like working for you, but I needed to put my needs first."

Felipe shook his head in acknowledgement.

"Victor is planning on taking Louisiana from you. I don't know when for sure, but I suspect that he's going to make his move tonight. He's planning on getting rid of your sheriff's here in Nevada so that you wont have anyone to retaliate with immediately. I don't think he's going to try to kill you, he just wants Louisiana for now. I would have told you sooner, but he's also planning on killing Eric and myself, and I didn't want this leaked to him before Eric got here, and I knew he was safely with me. Anyway, I don't have any solid proof for you, but I promise you that I did hear all this information from his day guy Brian. I just hope that you trust me and believe me when I tell you this is the honest truth."

Felipe seemed to be taking all this information in. He looked away from me, and stood up. He walked over to the window and stared out of it for a moment before he spoke. "Tell me, why should I believe this information that you are bringing to me?" Felipe asked, but he didn't sound like he disbelieved me.

"Because of all the terrible things he's done to me and Eric back in Louisiana. I don't think he's told you everything. You've been so nice to me, and it has convinced me one hundred percent that he's been behind all of it." I started to get teary eyed, but I sucked it up, cause I didn't want to ruin my make up. Felipe could see me fighting the tears, and came to sit back next to me.

"Tell me." he said. He took my hand, and I told him everything.

Once I was done, I let out a great sigh. "So you understand why I didn't say anything to you before? Why I couldn't." I said, and looked down.

"Yes, I do. And I thank you for your courage in coming to me with this information even now. Eric may be here, but it's still dangerous for you two." he said. I knew that I had his trust, and I knew that he believed everything I had told him. The rage that was boiling just under his skin told me so.

"So what do you want to do? I will do what I can to help you." I said, finally looking back up at him.

"Well, I'm going to make sure all my sheriffs know. Beyond that, I don't know yet. We should get back before Victor suspects anything." Felipe said. I knew that he believed me then, and that he would keep this secret. "When we get back, I'm going to pull Clark aside to speak with him, to make it look like our conversation was concerning him." Felipe walked to the door, and opened it for us. I went out first, and Felipe followed me. We walked the long hallway back to his room, and went in to find that almost everyone else had arrived, including Eric.


	40. Chapter 44

**There will be a total of 5 today, and the last one is a LONG one.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters except for Clark, he's mine.**

**Snoogans.  
**

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Just like I had taken his breath (if he actually had any) away earlier, he took mine away now. He was so hansom in his tux. When we walked in, Eric turned to face me, and I went right over to him and gave him a hug. He looked down at me, and raised his eyebrow, and I slightly shook my head yes to let him know that my meeting with Felipe had gone well. He squeezed me a little to acknowledge that this was good news for us both.

Felipe walked over to Clark, who was standing at the other side of the room from Eric. Felipe told him they needed to speak, and they left the room. Aside from maybe one or two vampires, I knew everyone else in the room, and took Eric around to introduce him to everyone I knew from Felipe's kingdom. Each sheriff complimented me on my dress, and Eric on his luck in finding such a lovely human companion. At first, Eric seemed a bit upset that I had become so social with all these vampires in the situation that neither of us wanted me to be in, but after the compliments started to flow in, his ego got the best of him and he started to seem proud to show me off as his 'human companion'.

We had made our way through the room, and ended with Victor. We greeted each other cordially, but as soon as the bowing was over, Eric and I walked away to find our own little corner to stand in.

"Kiss me." I said, and he bent down to comply. I gave him a couple kisses, and then when he puckered up for another, I spoke as quietly as possible, into his mouth, but I knew he could hear me. "Whatever Felipe says, go with it." He squeezed me to let me know he heard, and then continued with the kiss. As our kiss was ending, Felipe and Clark walked back into the room. Victor walked over to Felipe, and Clark walked over to Eric and me.

"So, you must be Mr. Northman. Nice to meet you." Clark said when he got over to us, and did a little bow to Eric, the typical vampire greeting, since vampires didn't shake hands. Eric hardly acknowledged Clark at first, but he did once I elbowed him in the stomach.

"Clark. A pleasure, I'm sure." Eric finally said, very flat and dry. He pinched my side in retaliation for the elbowing, which made me jump a little.

"So Clark, is everything alright with you and Felipe now?" I asked, and this time, it was my turn to raise my eyebrows in question to him.

"Well,.." he started, but then I shushed him. "Oh, right." He said, and understood that I wanted him to tell me so that I could hear him with my other sense.

_Well, he told me that you told him everything, and that he basically needed to pull me out so that it wasn't suspicious to Victor that you and Felipe came back together. He still doesn't know what he's going to do, other than warn his sheriff's to be on the lookout tonight. If Victor doesn't make his move, Felipe is going to have him taken out a.s.a.p._

"Thanks Clark." I said, and smiled at him.

He smiled back at me, "Anything for you Sookie." He lingered there for a moment, thinking about what to say next, and thank goodness, for his sake, that he didn't say what was really on his mind. "You look beautiful tonight, like, wow."

This seemed to annoy Eric further than I could tell he already was. Eric knew that Clark had kissed me before, and so he already had it in for the guy. But instead of ripping Clark to shreds, he did something even more cruel to Clark. Eric, who was now standing behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and leaned in to kiss my neck. I could tell by Clark's eyes that Eric must have been staring at him, making sure Clark saw that I was his, and after a moment of Clark looking back at Eric, he left us.

"I don't like him." Eric said once Clark was gone, and thankfully out of hearing range.

"Well good thing you don't have to. But I want you to be nice tonight. I may still have to work for these people come tomorrow, and I don't want to create friction if I'm going to have to stay in Nevada."

"I don't like other men looking at you like that. It's inappropriate when they can see you are clearly with me." He said, and leaned down to kiss me on the neck again. I hated it when Eric thought of me as property, but right now, I wasn't going to fight it. I was just happy to be in his arms, and more than willing to be his property if it meant getting me out of here.

Victor and Felipe finished whatever their conversation was regarding, and Felipe turned to the rest of the room. "Shall we my friends? I believe the transportation is here." And with that, the vampires in the room set down their glasses of blood, and everyone headed to the door. Eric and I got in the elevator Felipe was taking down, which also included a few of Felipe's sheriffs. Victor tried to get in with us, but Felipe told him to go down with the rest of the guests in the other elevator. We traveled down a few floors, and then Felipe hit the emergency stop button. An alarm sounded, and the elevator came to a sudden stop.

"My friends, we don't have much time. It has been brought to my attention that Victor is planning on killing each one of you, most likely this evening. I cannot explain any further, but I want to make sure each of you is aware to be on guard. If he does not make his move tonight, we will have him taken care of tomorrow." When he finished, each vampire nodded their heads in understanding, and Felipe pulled the emergency stop button back out, and we continued on our way without another word.

We headed out to the limo's that were waiting for us, and headed over to the Wynn for the ball. When we got there, our group, along with the groups from the other limo's were escorted in, and over to the ball room that was setup for us. Felipe led the way, followed by Victor, then his sheriffs from Nevada, and then Eric, myself, and Clark. When we got to the ball room, there were already other guests there. I was guessing from the other west coast states. It almost seemed like we were the last to arrive.

When we were in the ball room, I took a look around. It was beautiful. There were two giant chandeliers on the ceiling. There was gold painted crown molding that ran all the way around the top of the room. The wallpaper was a deep red, almost burgundy, with gold leafing. There was a small stage set up at the far end of the room, with a small roofless gazebo on it. The columns on it were intertwined with black and purple silk cloth, wrapping from the top to the bottom. I assumed that was where the wedding would take place. I wondered if the wedding was out of love, or if it was purely to merge the states. It was probably the latter.

Eric put out his hand, palm up, and I took it, and he led us all the way into the ball room. There was a small orchestra to the left of the door playing classical music, and there was a group of vampires and some humans waltzing in the middle of the floor. To the right, there was a small table with food for the humans that had come, and there was also a table with True Blood and a few of the other brands that weren't as popular with warming stations. There was also another station, with fresh blood, but we wont discuss that. Eric led me into the center of the room, and we started to dance.

"I figured this would be a safe place to talk away from Victor and Felipe." he said.

"Aw, you mean you don't really wanna dance with me?" I said teasingly and smiled. Eric smiled back. "But seriously, we're out in the middle of the dance floor, doesn't seem all that private Eric."

"Look around you Lover. It's mostly humans, some vampires, but none from Felipe's kingdom, they wont pay attention to what we are talking about." he said, and motioned his head around for me to take a look. He was right. There was not a soul looking at us, or ease-dropping at all. Everyone was concentrating on their partner, or the music, or someone else's partner. Ick. Eric pulled me in close. "How did it go with Felipe. I see he believed you. Did you tell him everything?"

"Yes. Everything. Every last little detail about Victor's actions since he was left alone in Louisiana."

"And do you think that he will let you come home now that he knows the truth? About how you ended up here."

"I honestly don't know. I didn't bring it up, it didn't seem like the right time honestly. If I had, he probably would have just shot me down. I think it's better to wait on that and see how things pan out."

"Don't you want to come home Lover?" he asked, looking a bit confused.

"Every second of every minute of every hour of every day Eric. Why would you think I didn't want to come home?" I asked, genuinely confused now.

"I would have thought that you would ask, that's all. Regardless of what Felipe was going through, it was an opportune moment to ask."

"Perhaps, but I'm not that ruthless when it comes to someone I like. And I know you don't want to hear it, but I like Felipe." Eric rolled his eyes when I said that. "He's nice Eric, and he's treated me very well since I have been here, and he didn't even know I was forced like I was, so he wasn't trying to buy me off or anything, he's just been genuinely a good boss to me."

"You are to nice sometimes Lover." Eric said, and leaned down to give me a kiss.

"But you love that about me. If I wasn't so nice sometimes, this," and I took my hand and pointed it back and forth between us, "would not have happened." That made Eric laugh.

"Yes, I think you gave me maybe one to many chances Lover." he said, still giggling a little.

"Just one?" I said in return, and giggled with him. "But you've given me the same I suppose." I said, and rested my head against him.

"Perhaps. But we should talk about that somewhere else." he said, and got very serious. I had enough serious business going on tonight, so I wasn't going to question him on that.

The song we were dancing to ended, and Eric led us off the floor. We headed off to a little corner by the stage. He leaned against the wall, and I leaned my back into him, so we were both facing the dance floor. I'm not sure what Eric was looking at, maybe looking for Victor or Felipe or any sign of what was possibly going to happen this evening. In the mean time, I was looking for Quinn. I knew the E(E)E had set up the ball tonight, and it was the E(E)E who had procured another ceremony knife like the one that had pledged Eric and me, so I figured that he would have to be here somewhere.

"So what are we going to do if a fight breaks out?" I asked after I gave the room a twice over.

"We leave. I get you away from here so you don't get hurt or killed. This isn't your fight." Eric replied, and bent over to kiss my neck. I looked up at him when his lips left my neck, and our eyes met. He broke away first and then kiss my forehead.

I closed my eyes for his kiss, and when I opened them, I saw Quinn. "Wait here." I said to Eric, and walked away. He started to follow me, but I turned to him and put up my index finger signaling him to wait a minute. I walked right up to Quinn before he noticed me.

"Thanks for calling." I said, and Quinn stiffened up for a moment, then turned to face me.

"Babe, wow, you look great." he said, looking me up and down.

I put my hand up to him. "No, don't change the subject. Why didn't you call? I know you have one of , you know, what we talked about. You could have at least given me the heads up, or helped me out." I said, and gave him puppy dog eyes. I didn't want to seem to upset with him I realized, cause he might not give us the chance to take off with it later.

"Babe, look, I wanted to call you and tell you, but are you sure this is what you really want to do? With him?" he said, and gestured in Eric's direction.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, are you going to help me?"

"I don't know if I can Babe. Some stuff came up. If I were you, I would forget about it, alright? And I would probably leave tonight too if I were you, understand?" he looked away from me.

It hit me then. Victor had gotten to him. Victor knew there would be a wedding here tonight, and knew that there would have to be a ceremonial knife, and wouldn't want Eric and I to get our hands on it. Quinn wouldn't do this to me though unless Victor was holding something over his head.

"So did your mom get into more trouble, or was it your sister this time?" I asked, face dipped down now. Things just got a lot harder all of the sudden.

"My mom. I got to go Babe, and you should leave too." Quinn said, and took off through and 'Employee's Only' door. It was useless to follow him, he wouldn't betray his family, and I knew that from personal experience. I walked back over to Eric, and he could tell just by looking at me I was upset.

"What did the tiger have to say for himself?"

"Victor got to him. He won't be helping us." I said, and a tear broke free, and rolled down my cheek.

"We don't need the tiger anyway Lover. I've snuck one out before, I can do it again. Trust me." Eric said, but he looked furious, and like he wasn't entirely sure either. I chalked that up to being upset about Quinn going to the dark side, but then I realized Eric's attention had shifted. He was looking out over the crowd. I turned to see what had caught his attention, but I wasn't as tall as Eric, and I couldn't see over the crowd.

"What is it?" I asked, but got no response. "Eric, what's wrong."

He said nothing, and grabbed my arm, and started to lead me back towards the door that Quinn had gone through. He was walking so fast, he was practically dragging me. "Eric, please, what's wrong!" I started to panic, and my voice was almost yelling at him. He pulled me through the door, and pushed me against the wall just inside. He put his hand over my mouth when he saw me starting to speak in protest to whatever the hell it was he was doing right now.

"Sookie, the sheriffs from Louisiana just walked in. They shouldn't be here. This isn't their territory and they weren't invited by Felipe. I need you to hide, quickly. I don't like this." and with that, he turned to leave back to the ball room. I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Don't you dare go out there. Hide with me! Please!" I pleaded with him, but his fangs were already out in anticipation of the fight that he seemed to know was imminent. He could have just kept on moving, there was no way that I could physically stop him, but he stopped, and came back over to me. He grabbed my face with both hands, and kissed me like it would be our last. I know I've said before that Eric is a great kisser, he's had a thousand years to perfect it, but this time, he outdid himself. Every fear that I had then melted away for a moment, and then came flooding back when he walked out the door, and back into the ball room.


	41. Chapter 45

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot, except for Clark, he's mine.**

**Snoogans.  
**

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I didn't hide. I peeked my head out the door to see what was going on. I could see Victors Louisiana sheriff's circling the room, and trying to be inconspicuous about it. They were acting like they had been invited, and mingling with the guests. Maybe they were invited and Eric had it all wrong. Maybe there were here to back up Victor, but the attack wasn't going to happen tonight. That's what I kept telling myself, even as I noticed that they were placing themselves near the closest Nevada sheriff they could find.

Thank goodness I had warned Felipe, and that he had a chance to warn his vamps before the ball started. I could tell from the ones that I could see that they were now aware of the uninvited guests, and where they were positioning themselves. You could practically see the tension in the room. I heard shouting then, and it sounded like Felipe, but I couldn't see him from where I was. I stepped out of the room to see if I could get a better look, and then the fighting broke out.

One of the Louisiana sheriffs took a stake out of their coat, and stabbed the nearest Nevada sheriff while their attention was focused on Felipe. They crumpled to the ground, and started to turn to ash. I immediately shifted my focus back to where I had last seen Eric, but he was gone. I searched the crowd for him, but couldn't find him. Fighting was breaking out now all over the ball room. Every single human in the place was screaming and running. A few ran past me and through the 'Employee's Only' door Eric had pushed me through. I wanted to start searching for him in the crowd. I needed to find him, and get us out of there. I started to head into the crowd of running and screaming humans, but it was like swimming up stream in the Mississippi river. I started to scream Eric's name, but he was no where to be seen. I was pushing people out of the way left and right. To my left, I was shoved to the ground by a Louisiana sheriff who was trying to stop himself from getting staked by a Nevada sheriff who seemed to have turned the tables on him.

I was getting kicked and stepped on by the fleeing crowd, and struggling to get away from the Louisiana sheriff, and back on my feet, when I felt a hand reach down and grab my arm, and practically yank me back to my feet. It was Clark.

"Sookie, we need to get out of here." he yelled to me.

"No, I need to find Eric." I yelled back, and pulled my arm from his grip. I started to search for him in the crowd again. There was pretty much just vampires left, but they were all pretty much now involved in the fight. Clark grabbed my arm again, and started to pull me back to the 'Employee's Only' door.

"Clark, let me go." I shouted at him, and struggled to free myself from his grip. I kept my eyes on the crowd, and caught a glimpse of Eric. He was jumping out of the way of someone who was swinging a silver chain at his neck. He had a wicked smile on his face when he lunged back at his aggressor, and was lost in the crowd after that.

Clark had had enough of my resistance, and picked me up at the waist, and slung me over his shoulder. I started to pound on his back and screamed at him to put me down, but it was no use. We went back through the door, in to a side room to the right, and then down a hallway, and through another door.

"Where are you taking me! Clark, put me down, I need to get Eric out of there."

"You're not going anywhere. You'll get yourself killed out there Sookie. Eric's as good as dead out there anyways." and with that, he set me down. As soon as my feet were on the floor, I wielded my hand back as far as it would go, and slapped Clark in the face as hard as I could.

"You bastard. Don't you dare say that." I said to him. He stood there silent for a moment, and then pushed me back against the wall in the storage closet we appeared to now be in. He had his hands on my shoulders and I was pinned in place, but I wasn't fighting him.

"Sookie, forget Eric. Come with me. We could leave here, go back to your home. Live a normal life. Not have to deal with any of this vampire shit ever again."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said. I was completely confused now. Something didn't seem right.

Clark reached around to his back, and pulled something out from under his coat. I knew what it was. It looked almost identical to the only other one I had seen before. It was one of the ceremonial knives. He held it in front of me, and he seemed to be examining it.

He didn't look away from the knife, and started to speak again. "Victor told me that killing you with this would be ironic, or something like that. Maybe it was poetic. I don't remember."

"What? Clark, what are you talking about?" I asked, but as I said it, it started to click.

"I told Victor we were in love. I asked him to spare you. He said that if that was true, and you came with me willingly, I could have you. Otherwise, he wanted you dead."

"You've been on his side this whole time haven't you. You son of a bitch!" I pushed back on him now.

"Sookie, darling, please don't fight this. You know you love me too. You know you felt the connection between us, that night, in your room. I felt it, and I know I wasn't dreaming it." I was pushing harder against him then, and he leaned in against me, and had his face hovering in front of mine. "Tell me you love me, say it." he said, and leaned in and kissed me. I didn't kiss back this time, but I was realizing that Clark was completely out of his mind, and I was either going to die back here, or I wasn't. And the only way I wasn't, was if I played along.

Reluctantly, I stated to kiss him back. I thought of Eric while I did to try to make it seem more believable. Clark loosened his grip on me, and I didn't try to run, or resist him. He ended the kiss, and looked me in the eyes. I could tell he was trying to judge if I was serious. I had to do something to play along like I was serious, so I leaned in, and kissed him back. I leaned my body into his, and he leaned back. Last time we kissed, I had felt a little something for Clark, and this time I was feeling something too, except it was hate.

"We should get out of here." I said to him when I ended out kiss.

"Yes, I think we should." He said back, and took my hand. I smiled at him, and when he turned around, I scowled at the back of his head.

We went back out the door that we had gone through to get to the supply closet, and were headed back down the hall we had come from. I could hear the fighting going on now from the main ball room where we had been. I turned down a different hall just before the door that led back into the ball room, and ran into Quinn. Clark ran right into his chest, and excused himself. Quinn had a puzzled look on his face, but stepped out of our way. Clark started to run again and I turned my head back to Quinn.

"Quinn! Help me!" I screamed, and Clark stopped running then, and threw me to the ground. I wasn't prepared for it, and didn't have time to brace myself. I hit the ground hard, and my face slammed into the tile floor. It dazed me for a moment, but I looked up at Clark first, he had his right arm extended out in Quinn's direction, and the knife was in his hand. I looked over to where Quinn had been. He was still in his same position, except I could see his eyes starting to glow. Clark had no clue who he was messing with.

"Buddy, if you know what's good for you, you will step away from her, now." Quinn said to Clark. I could see his hands start to turn more claw-like as the seconds past.

Clark was noticing the changes in Quinn now too. He reached down and picked me back up, but instead of turning me over to Quinn, Clark grabbed my neck, and put the knife against my abdomen. "Come one step closer, and I'll stab her, I swear it." Clark said, and pushed the knife into me a little, putting a small hole in my dress. I could feel the tip of the knife pushing against my skin.

Quinn was still slowly shifting, but he was trying to calm himself down so he didn't. He put his hands up, which were now almost completely claws. "Buddy, just put it down, I won't come any closer, just let her go."

"I told you bitch, you either come with me, or you die. Last chance." Clark said to me, now ignoring Quinn.

I wanted to tell Clark to go to hell. I wanted to punch him, or do something to fight back. But the reality was that I had a knife pointed right at my gut, and I didn't want to get stabbed. I put up my hands to Quinn to signal to him to stop. "Clark, I'll go with you. It's alright. I didn't mean to tell Quinn to help me get away, I meant it to help us get out of here. I told you I was going with you, remember."

"You know what, I don't believe you. You lying bitch." Clark said, and then he pushed the knife in. I froze up at first, in shock. Everything went in slow motion as Clark let me go. I stepped back to the wall next to me, and slid down it until I was on the floor, back leaned against the wall. I saw Quinn shift completely, and I saw Clark start to run. I looked away, but I still heard skin tearing, and Clark screaming, and then his screaming stopped. I wasn't really in pain, yet, but my abdomen felt warm. I put my hand down, and touched my stomach, and I could feel the warm blood flowing.

Quinn came back over to me then, still in tiger form, and licked my face. He huffed a few times. "Go get Eric." I whispered to him. Quinn huffed again, and took off back towards the door that led to the ball room. I sat there for a moment, and then realized something felt strange, aside from the stab. I looked down finally, and saw the knife sticking out. Clark had left it in me, thank goodness. I lifted my head back up and laughed a little, and that's when the pain started to hit.

Eric came running in right after that with Quinn following, still in tiger form. Eric was beat up, pretty bad. There were gashes all over his face, some of them pretty deep. His tux was torn to pieces, and he had gashes on his chest and arms. He looked at me, and fell to his knees.

"Eric, take the knife." I said.

"Sookie, we need to get you to a hospital. A doctor should remove the knife. I don't want to hurt you further." He said, and reached his hand out to touch me, and decided the safest place would be my cheek.

"No, Eric. We need to keep this knife, understand? Now, if a doctor removes it, we won't get it back. Now… Eric… take the knife." I said, and put my palms on the ground, and braced myself for him to remove it from my abdomen. When I was ready, I nodded at him to proceed, but he didn't. "Eric, pull the Goddamn knife out!" I yelled at him, and it hurt a little more when I did.

Eric winced, and reluctantly put his hands on the hilt of the knife. He counted down from three to one, and on one, he pulled it out as quickly and smoothly as he could, but it still hurt like hell, and I screamed, then started crying again. Blood started to flow more freely, and I started to feel lightheaded. Eric stashed the knife in what was left of his tux jacket.

Once it was tucked away, he bit open his wrist, and held it out to me. "Drink Sookie. It may not be enough to heal you, but it should at least keep you alive."

"No, I don't want to turn." I said, and I could hear that my words weren't coming out with as much gusto as they had a few minutes ago.

"I won't let that happen, but if we're going to make it to the hospital, you need to drink." he said, and put his wrist to my mouth. I could feel it slowly oozing at my lips, so I opened my mouth, and lapped up what I could. I really wasn't feeling any better at all even with his blood starting to run through me. I had a feeling I wasn't getting as much as I would if I was in a better condition. Eric must have decided that we couldn't waste any more time and that I had taken enough to at least get me to the hospital, because the next words out of his mouth sounded terrifying.

"I'm going to pick you up now. I will be as gentle as I can. Tell me how I can adjust to make you more comfortable." He said, and then just looked at me trying to decide how best to do his task. He decided on scooping me up like a child, and when he did I was in complete agony. The pain was fully setting in, and it was more than I could handle. The last thing I saw was Eric's face, and the walls passing by us quicker than normal, and everything was starting to go dark. Eric must have noticed that my eyes were closing, and he pleaded with me to keep them open, but it was no use. That was the last thing I heard.

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**I'm officially disowning Clark. LOL.**

**Also, for the blood bond, this is sort of why I didn't bring it back earlier.  
**


	42. Chapter 46

**Hope you're all enjoying.**

**Quick A/N down at the bottom over something in this chapter.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the charaters.**

**Snoogans.  
**

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It took me a moment to focus when I woke up. My eyes were heavy like I had been sedated, and it was tough to get them open. I slowly glanced at my surroundings, and could tell I was in a hospital room. I could feel an IV on the back of my right hand. I could feel a weight on my chest, and in bed with me. I turned my head to the left. It was Eric. He was part way in one of his favorite positions. He was propped up on his elbow, with his arm thrown over me, but not his leg. He seemed to be having down time. I leaned my head to his chest, and managed to startle him into reality. He didn't say anything, but he rested his chin on my head. I gathered the strength to turn my head up to him. I felt so weak, and I could barely move. Eric's eyes were closed, and he had red tears starting to fall from his eyes.

"Hi." I said finally. Eric still didn't talk, and he kept his eyes shut. "What happened?" I asked. He took his arm off me to wipe the tears from his face. He opened his eyes, and smiled at me, then kissed my forehead. "Eric, what happened? Please tell me."

"I'm so glad you're awake Sookie." he finally said, and kissed my forehead again.

"Eric, please. Am I alright?" I asked, practically pleading now. There felt like there was a gap missing in my memory, and I needed him to tell me what had happened.

"Shhh.. Sookie. Stay calm. I will tell you, but not just yet. I just want to enjoy you being awake for a moment longer, and then I will go and get your doctor." he said, and scooted down in the bed, ever so gently. I could tell he was trying not to bump into me, or to shake the bed at all. Once his face was next to mine, he started to plant kisses on me, and I could see red tears start to build in his eyes. I tilted my head so that his next kiss was on my lips. It was soft and sweet, and I could tell he wanted to just stay right there. He reluctantly broke off, and carefully got out of bed. He was treating me like I was porcelain. "I will be right back." he said, and left the room.

I was starting to feel like I was getting some strength back, so I decided to give myself a once over. I pushed back the blanket that was over me, and patted around over my gown. I could tell I didn't have any underwear on, and I didn't want to be indecent when the doctor and Eric and whoever else came back. I could feel a bandage over my stomach, and the memory of Clark stabbing me came rushing back. I gasped, and started to tear up. The spot where I had been wounded didn't hurt to much, well, not really at all. I would have thought that getting stabbed would have hurt more, so I figured I either had some very good drugs, or my personal pharmacy, aka Eric, had something to do with that. Other than the bandage, I seemed to be just fine. As I was pulling the blanket back over myself, a man in a lab coat and Eric walked back into the room.

"Mrs. Northman," the doctor started, and I glanced over at Eric and scowled at him, "I'm Dr. Howard. How are you feeling?" he asked, and pulled out a little flashlight thing.

"Fine I guess. A little weak." I said as he shined the light in each of my eyes. Then he took his stethoscope from around his neck, and put it to my chest. "And a little blurry on what happened." I glanced back over at Eric, who was now sitting in a chair in the far corner of my room.

Dr. Howard finished listening to my breathing or whatever it was he was listening for, and walked to the end of my bed, and picked up a chart. He looked it over, and then came back to the side of my bed, and had a seat.

"Mrs. Northman, you've been in a coma for the last three weeks. You were stabbed in the abdomen. When you arrived here at the hospital, there was a lot of blood loss, and you were unconscious. We had to do emergency surgery. We were able to repair most of the damage done, but we had to remove a kidney." he paused there, and must have seen the horror streak across my face. I looked over at Eric, tears welling up, but he was looking at the ground. I looked back at the doctor, and tried my best not to let the tears spill over.

So I've been in a coma? Lost a kidney? "Am I going to be alright?" I asked, as it was the next question I had asked myself, but the only one that actually made it's way out loud.

"Well, I don't see why not Mrs. Northman. You will need to stay here a few more days at least, for observation. But the fact that you have woken up is a good sign I think." he said, and patted my knee, and mustered up a small smile.

I stared back over at Eric. He was still sitting in the chair, head still down. I looked back at the doctor. "Mrs. Northman, do you have any more questions?" he asked.

"Not right now I guess." I said. I did have more questions, but not for him.

"Give me a call if you do." he said as he rose from my bed, and headed to the door. "I'll be back in a few hours to check on you."

"Thank you doctor." I said as he left the room. I looked over at Eric again. He was still in his same position. I could sense that something was wrong. I patted the bed next to me, so that Eric would climb back in with me. I felt safer with him there. But he didn't come.

"What happened? I remember being at the ball, and I remember there was fighting breaking out, but after that it's kind of a blur. How did I get stabbed?" I asked him.

"Clark. The Tiger said he came across you and him in the hallway, and that you asked for his help. You tried to tell Clark that it was to get you and him out safely, but he didn't believe you, so he stabbed you. The Tiger came and got me, and I took you here." he said.

Eric was still sitting in the chair, staring at the floor. He wouldn't look up at me, and wouldn't respond to my requests for him to come back to my side. I started to get upset, and cry quietly to myself. I could feel something bad coming. My tears finally roused him from the chair.

He came over to me, and I scooted over in the bed to give him room to lay back down with me. He silently complied, and cuddled back up to me. I felt safe again. He was propped up a little higher than me, so that my head was able to rest on his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head, and every now and then planted little kisses there.

"So what now?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I meant with us, because of the way he was acting, or about my situation here in Vegas.

He decided that I was asking about Vegas. "I have spoken with Felipe. We have made an arrangement, in light of what has taken place, and your loyalty to him with the Victor situation. You will continue to work for him, however I have made arrangements for you to be able to do it from home."

"What about Victor? Did he live?"

"Yes. He's in Felipe's custody."

"Why didn't Felipe just kill him?"

"He would rather torture him instead for his crimes against the throne." Eric said very matter of fact. I just shrugged. I didn't care what Felipe did, and a small part of me was kind of happy that Victor was getting what he deserved.

I hugged myself as close as I could get to Eric. He hugged me back, but was very gentle about it. We stayed like that until dawn, and he left, and I fell asleep.

I was able to check out of the hospital three days later. Eric stayed with me the entire time I was there. They had a place for him to sleep during the day, and each night, he would come to me as soon as he rose, and not leave until the sun was rising the next morning. The nurses had told me that he had done this the entire time I was in the hospital, and I thought it was sweet.

We had gone to the hotel the night that I checked out to pack my things and his. I tried to do as much as I could, but I was still in a bit of pain from my stab, and I wasn't supposed to do a lot of bending or lifting. Eric kept trying to get me to stop, and insisting that he could do it in time for us to catch our flight, but I felt guilty just sitting there watching him pack up.

"Here, let me help, at least in here." I said to him while he was trying to back up the things from the bathroom.

"I can take care of it Sookie." He said, a bit frustrated it seemed at having to tell me for the millionth time. "Please," he started, and turned to me, taking my face in his hands, "I just want you to relax. I don't want you hurting yourself further than you already are." He gave me a light kiss on the lips, and then released me, and continued to pack.

I went back to the bedroom, but I decided that I was still going to try to help. It was like Eric didn't even know me. I don't like being told I can't do something. I went into the closet to get the nicer pieces of clothing that we had left for last to prevent them from getting wrinkled as much as possible. I took them over to the bed, and packed them in the suitcase Felipe had dropped off for me sometime while I was in the hospital. I checked the rest of the room, and found that Eric has really pretty much packed all our things, and there was nothing left to do.

I zipped up the luggage, and went to pull it off the bed, to bring it to the living room area for the bellhop. In my attempt to lug it off the bed onto the floor without letting it just drop, I lifted a little more than I should have, and a sharp pain rang through my body, starting from the wound, and radiating through the rest of my body. Before I knew it, I cried out from the pain, and Eric was at my side, shoving the luggage from me, and taking me in his arms, and lowering us to the floor before I fell there myself.

"Sookie, what the hell are you doing!" he said, obviously angered at me. His tone was harsh.

"I know, I know! I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was so heavy until it was to late." I said, gripping my side.

Eric started to inspect me, pushing my hand out of the way on my side, and replacing it with his own, as if to inspect to see if I had done any damage. "I'm fine Eric. Help me up." I told him as the pain started to subside. He stood, and carefully guided me to my feet, and then he swooped me up in his arms, and carried me to the living room. He sat me down in front of the couch.

"Sit." was all he said.

I crossed my arms in a bit of a tantrum, but I sat anyways. I don't think he meant for me to see, but as he turned, it made him smirk. It was the first time I had seen him smile since I had woken up. He went back to the bedroom and bathroom to finish packing.

The plane landed at the Shreveport airfield at around ten in the morning. I had the Anubus airlines plane to myself for the trip. Eric was in a travel coffin in the cargo hold of the plane. There was a shuttle waiting for us when we landed, to take me, and Eric's coffin, back to his home.

When the driver pulled up to Eric's house, I finally felt relieved. I really felt like I was home. Now, don't get me wrong, I couldn't WAIT to get back to Gran's house, my house, in Bon Temps, but I was still in need of some healing before I went. I wanted to be able to fully enjoy being able to see my family and friends again. I didn't want to have to take it easy, and Eric understood. I was glad that he had kept my injury and hospital stay a secret now. I didn't want to be fussed over, I just wanted to get back to my normal life, and I wanted to be well when I did it.

The driver helped me with the luggage into the house, and then brought in Eric, who was still dead for the day in his coffin. He left, and I was alone in Eric's house. I thought about trying to unpack, partly because I wanted to get settled in as soon as possible, and partly because I wanted Eric to see I wasn't completely helpless, but then decided against it. I went to the kitchen for something to drink, and found that Pam must have recently been by, as the fridge was stocked with what Eric and her knew were some of my favorite things. I poured myself some orange juice, and sat at the barstool that was at the island in his kitchen. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I found myself nodding off at the counter.

I checked the clock, and saw it was now almost noon. I went back to the living room, found my bag, and searched for something comfortable, preferably pajamas, to change in to, but I had no luck. I decided to just use whatever I could find of Eric's in his room, kissed his coffin, and headed to his bed, and then I was out.

I awoke to the feeling of being enveloped. I could feel Eric wrapping himself around me. The usual arm over my body, leg over my legs, and this time, he was practically laying on top of me, but there was nothing sexual about it. It felt like he was shielding me. He had done it each night in the hospital since I had woken up, and from what my nurses told me, he did it each night I was in my coma, until one of them came in and would tell him to give me some space.

He had sensed me coming out of my sleep. "Shhh, Sookie, I'm sorry if I woke you. Go back to sleep." he said, and kissed my cheek. I turned to face him, and snuggled up close to him. He took the opportunity to wrap both arms around me, and hug me as close to him as he could.

"Hello." I said, as I curled my body into his.

"Hello." he said back slyly. I had reached my face up, and was planting little kisses on his neck. I could already start to feel through our clothes what it was doing to him. To my surprise, he put the breaks on my advances. "Sookie, you are supposed to take it easy."

"Well, we can take it easy. I know you can be sweet." I said, and resumed kissing his neck, and now his jaw line.

He moaned "Lover." into my hair, and moved on top of me. He kissed me for all he was worth then. Now, for me, it had only been a few days since the last time we had, you know. But for Eric, it had been almost four weeks. That was quite some time for my Viking to go without any, and I knew it.

I wiggled under him, and started to pull up my nightshirt that I had changed into before I went to bed earlier in the day. He could feel what I was doing, and did the job quicker for me. I decided it was time to take off his shirt. His mouth had moved from mine, and was now trailing kisses and little nips on my skin from just behind my ear, down my neck and across my jaw line. I took the bottom of his shirt, and started to lift it over his head. As soon as my arms stretched up to pull it over his head, I felt a sharp pain in my side, coming from my wounded area. Before I had a chance to stifle it, I gasped from the pain, and Eric froze.

"Lover, we need to stop." he said, but sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of that.

"I'm fine, I just reached up to high, really." I said, pouting. Getting babied was really starting to get on my nerves.

"I don't want to hurt you further Lover. I can wait until you are healed. You can wait until you are healed as well."

"Eric, please, I'll be fine as long as we are both careful." I said, and gave him my best puppy dog eyes. I felt pitiful, having to practically beg for sex from Eric Northman, sex-god. He thought this was funny, and laughed, before getting out of bed, and leaving the room. I stayed in bed and pouted for a few minutes until I smelled coffee. Beautiful coffee my mind sang, and my resolution to pout until he gave me what I wanted quickly waned in favor of coffee. I got up and put my nightgown back on before heading out to the kitchen.

"I was going to bring this to you." Eric said, and I noticed him preparing a tray of fruit and yogurt. Apparently, he was planning on giving me breakfast in bed.

"I think you're just trying to torture me." I said, and he chuckled again.

"I think you like it." he said, and wagged his eyebrows at me. This got a little smile and small giggle from me. He came around the counter and brought me in to his body for an embrace that enveloped my body into his, and he planted a small kiss on the top of my head.

* * *

**Yes, if they had had sex, Eric would have been gentle as hell, but here's why I had Eric put the breaks on.**

**HE'S NOT AS MUCH OF A DOUCHE AS BILL!**

**It ALWAYS bothered me that Bill has sex with Sook in Living Dead In Dallas, the night after she see's Godfrey meet the sun. She was freaking hurt, seriously, and he just wanted sex. **

**Eric's not that much of a scumbag, and if Sookie's hurt, and he know's she's not feeling well, he would wait!**

**Now, yes, I know they have sex after Bill and Quinn knock her down in DAG, but it was a bump to the head, and his blood would have fixed that right away.**

**This time, her injury is a little more serious, so he's being respectful.**

**And that's all I have to say about that.  
**


	43. Chapter 47

**Another A/N at the end of this one, as well as the song lyrics that helped to inspire a lot of this story, and this chapter.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans.  
**

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The next week went by pretty fast. I slept most of each day, and stayed awake with Eric each night. Most of our time was spent in bed. It was heaven. Even if we were just lying there, there was no way it could be boring. We both would spend time reading, or watching movies, staying cuddled in his bed. The only time we left was so that I could use the restroom, or to go to the kitchen to eat. In the daytime, when I was awake, I would venture into his backyard to get some sun, but I would go right back into bed with him after that. I didn't want to be away from him, and he didn't seem to want to be away from me either. It was bliss, even without sex.

On the seventh day of us being back in Louisiana, I decided that it was about time for me to head back home. Let Jason and Sam know I was back. I told Eric that I wanted to go home.

"You don't want to spend the rest of your life with me here in bed?" he asked, giving me his best puppy dog eyes. I giggled, and put the book I had been reading down.

"I stayed up most of the day today so that I would sleep tonight. That way, I can go back tomorrow morning."

"No, why don't you wait until I wake tomorrow evening, and I will go with you." he said. It was less of a question, and more of a statement. "I don't want you heading back home alone."

"Why not? Victor's in custody." I asked. I didn't mind if he wanted to take me home, but he was being weird about it, and this peaked my curiosity.

"No reason. I just want to make sure you get home safely."

"We may not have the bond thing happening right now, but I know you well enough to tell when you're bull-shitting me Eric Northman."

I could see him fighting a smile. "Sookie, Dear One, I'm not bull-shitting you. I just want to take you home tomorrow. Is that so hard to believe?"

I sat there and huffed about it for a moment. I had had my mind set on leaving in the morning, but I guess it didn't hurt to spend one more night with him, right? "Fine. I'll wait." I said finally, and picked my book back up, and continued to read.

"Well that was easy." he said after a few minutes.

I continued to read, but responded to his comment. "What was honey?"

He turned towards me and pulled the book down from my hands. "You caved much sooner than I thought you would. You hardly put up a fight. I've been waiting a long time for this, and now that I have it, I'm not sure that I like it."

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow to him. "What the hell are you talking about?" I said, utterly confused.

"Here, I'll start over, and this time, when I tell you I want to take you home, you put up more of a protest." He got on his knees on the bed, and put a hand on his chest, and grabbed mine with his other. He started to speak, and it was in a mock-dignified tone. "Sookie, I would prefer that you wait until I woke tomorrow evening to return to your home in Bon Temps. I do not want you going alone." He squeezed my hand, and I was trying not to laugh. He whispered down to me. "This is your part now. Tell me you can do it yourself."

I completely lost it then. I was rolling around on the bed in a fit of laughter. Eric fell back to the bed, and pulled me to him, and we laughed together. We laid there and cuddled for a while, and just as I was starting to nod off, his cell phone rang. He let me go to look and see who was calling, and I saw it was Pam.

"Pam." he said as he answered it. I could hear her voice, but couldn't make out what she was saying. When she was done, he simply said "Fine." and hung up, then turned back to me. "Lover, I'm needed at the bar. Do you want to join me?"

"You know it." I said, and we both got ready to go out.

When we got to the bar, Pam was waiting for Eric at the employee entrance. She apparently didn't expect me to be joining him, and I could see a smile plaster her face when she saw I was in the car with him. We got out, and started to walk towards her, but apparently, I wasn't walking fast enough for her, and she did her whole vampire speed thing over to me, and before I had really even realized she was in front of me, I was up in her arms, and she was spinning me around. I was giggling, and hugged her back.

"Pam, I think that's enough." Eric finally said, and Pam put me down.

"Oh go inside and get to work. I will keep Sookie entertained." she said to Eric without turning from me. He just shook his head and disappeared into the bar.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, and took my hand to lead me into the bar. She got me a gin and tonic, and we sat at the booth that Eric and I used to occupy. I looked around for Eric.

"He's in his office. Are you really bored of me already?" she asked, but wasn't annoyed. She was grinning at me.

"It's good to see you Pam." I said, and took her hand.

"It's good to see you to Sookie." she said, and squeezed my hand back. We sat and chatted for a while, until we really didn't have anything more to say, or so it seemed. Pam took my hand again. "Sookie, you've saved my life twice now."

"Oh Pam." I said, and started to tell her that I couldn't just let her die, and that she was, oddly enough, my friend.

"You saved my life, and Eric's. I don't know what I can do to repay you for that, but I will do anything you ask."

"You don't need to repay me Pam. Really. You're my friend, and I know (I hoped) that you would do the same for me." I said, and took her hand. We smiled at each other, and then both turned our heads when we heard Eric coming up.

He scooted into the booth with us, next to me. "What did I interrupt?"

"I was just thanking Sookie for saving us from Victor before she went to Vegas." Pam said, and gave my hand another squeeze before releasing it. I leaned into Eric, and he put his arm around me.

"I see. You must really like her Pamela. You don't thank humans normally." he said, and Pam and I giggled.

"Only Sookie." she said, and winked at me. "Is everything taken care of?" she asked Eric.

"Actually, I need to speak with you privately for a moment Pam. Sookie, would you wait for me in my office?" he asked.

"Sure." I said, a little confused, but I just figured it was probably bar business, which was boring anyways. Eric got out of the booth seat so that I could make my way out, and I headed to his office.

I looked at the clock when I got in there, and saw that it was almost two in the morning. I had been up for well over twenty-four hours at this point, and my exhaustion hit me at that moment. I sat on the couch, but that quickly turned into me laying on it, and before I knew it, I was out.

I woke up to Eric putting me in bed. How the hell did I get all the way back to his house without waking up? He started to take off my shoes and socks, and then my jeans and t-shirt, and then my bra. I giggled, and he looked up at me, and kissed my lips lightly.

"Look who's awake." he said when he ended the kiss.

"Why are you undressing me?"

"Did you want to sleep in your clothes?" he asked, and raised an eyebrow.

"No, but you've got me down to just my panties." I said, and giggled.

"Don't get fresh with me Miss. Stackhouse." he said, and pulled the covers up over me. I rolled my eyes at him. I didn't like it when he called me Mrs. Northman, but that he called me Miss Stackhouse kind of stung a little. He went around to the other side of the bed, and I watched him take his clothes off, but he left his boxers on, and climbed into bed with me, and pulled me to him, so that I was cuddled up to him. It always made me laugh that he seemed to like to cuddle. Almost at much as he seemed to like having sex, which was a lot.

"Go back to sleep Lover. I set your alarm for two in the afternoon." I didn't protest, and before I knew it, I was out.

I woke up the next afternoon when the alarm went off. I turned to face Eric, who was sleeping on his back. I pulled his arm out so that I could cuddle up next to him. I kissed him a few times on the cheek, and once on the lips, and then rested my head in the little nook that seemed to be built just for me between his arm and chest. I laid my arm across him, and without thinking about it, had begun to trace my finger all over his chest. I didn't realize I was doing this until I got a small moan from Eric.

"Well that's new." I said, shocked that he seemed to me responding to me. I looked down, and realized that he was responding to me in more than just a moan. Mr. Happy was just about at full attention. This really was new. I had never really spent time in bed with Eric like this before. Usually, if I got up and he was sleeping, I got out of bed to leave him alone while he slept, or I went back to sleep. For a moment, I thought about taking advantage of the situation. I thought about seeing how far I could get before waking him up. He would be completely incoherent if he did wake, but I was a bit curious. I was reaching my hand down under the covers, and then stopped myself. I wasn't that cruel, and I wasn't a pervert. I giggled to myself, and decided that I better get out of bed.

I did my normal routine in the bathroom, and then went to the kitchen to get something to eat, and make some coffee. After that I headed back to the bedroom to pack, and found that Eric had already pretty much done that for me. I left out an outfit for me to wear, and he left out the bag to put my bathroom stuff away in.

I grabbed the book I had been reading the night before, and headed out to the living room, and read for a while. Before I knew it, I had read the day away, and I heard Eric heading down the hall to the kitchen. I set down my book, jumped off the couch, and ran to meet him. I came to the kitchen just as he did, and we both paused for a second before he smiled, and I took off running for him. I leapt and he caught me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and kissed him smack on the lips.

"Good morning!" I said once I finished the kiss. He smiled at me.

"Good morning Lover. What's gotten into you?" he asked as he put me down.

"Nothing. Just happy to see you."

"As happy to see me as you were when you woke up this afternoon?" he asked, and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, you remember that?" Oops, caught.

"Oh yes, I remember." he said, and leaned down, and kissed me for all he was worth. My legs turned to jello, and I started to falter. He gripped me tight so that I didn't hit the floor, finished his kiss, then walked to the fridge. "So, are you almost ready to head back?" he asked, nonchalantly.

It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. Oh, he could be so wickedly cruel sometimes. I went over to him, and slapped his butt, and then made my way to the bedroom to change, and then the bathroom to finish getting ready, and pack up the last few items. Eric came back into the bedroom as I was stuffing my bathroom bag into my larger luggage bag.

"Ready?" he asked.

I sighed. Yes, I was. I wanted to go home. To MY home. I wanted to see Jason, and I wanted to see Sam. But now I was sad to leave Eric's house. This last week had been amazing. I did nothing but eat, sleep, and cuddly mostly. But I couldn't live like this. I finally shook my head yes.

He sensed my hesitation, and took advantage of the situation. He came over and took me in his arms. "You know, you could always just stay here…" he said, and then lifted up my chin so that I was looking in his eyes. "You could move in here. Live with me."

I broke from his embrace, and went back over to my bag. "You know how I feel about that." I said, and took my luggage in hand, and headed out of the room. He followed, and didn't press the subject.

We pulled into my driveway just past eight that night. I started to cry when the house came into view. Eric took my bags from the trunk of his Corvette, and followed me up the steps to the front door. Eric handed me a key so that I could get in. I turned on the lights to the living room, and just stood there. Jason had been keeping the place up while I was gone. He hadn't done that bad of a job. It was obvious he was getting help from his girlfriend.

"Home." I said, and ran around the house to inspect each room. Eric set my bags down in my bedroom, and started to unpack them. When I found him in my room, he was trying to figure out what he should hang, and what got folded up in the dresser drawers.

I attacked then. I walked from my door to him, and stepped between him and my dresser. I put my hands on his chest, and pushed him back to my bed, until the backs of his knees had reached the edge, and he fell backwards. I couldn't have forced him there if he didn't want me to, but apparently he was curious to see where this was going.

I stood in front of him and started to undress him. I took off his shoes and socks first, then I climbed up on him, and startled him while I undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. I never took my eyes off his. I scooted back off the bed, and pulled his jeans off, and was pleased to find he'd gone commando this evening. I climbed back on him, and started to lift up his shirt. He reached for me then, and started to pull me in for a kiss, but I stopped him.

"No, not yet. You just stay there mister." I said, and winked at him. He grinned from ear to ear, and relaxed again. I started to pull back up his shirt, and he raised off the bed a little so that I could get it over his head. Now that I was done undressing him, it was my turn. I kicked off my shoes, took off my jeans, and took off my shirt. I was standing there in nothing but my bra and panties.

I climbed back on top of Eric, straddling his waist, and I leaned down and kissed him on the lips, lightly. I lingered there for a moment before I moved to his jaw, and then his neck. I stayed there for a while, and before I left to head further down, I gave his neck a little nip, which brought a growl from him.

I worked my way down his chest, stopping at his nipples, paying each one attention before heading down my path. I was at his belly button now, and I could feel him holding back. Every muscle in his body was tense. I could tell he wanted to grab me and take me then. That's when I struck.

"You want more?" I said as I got off him, and the bed. He simply shook his head in acknowledgment. "Then you'll have to come get it." I said, and took off running through the house. I took him by surprise, because I got almost all the way to the kitchen before he caught me. He still hadn't spoken, but he grunted when he caught me, and I giggled. He flung me over his shoulder, and carried me back to the bedroom. I had the perfect view of his gorgeous behind, and I smacked it once on our way back, which earned me a smack on my behind.

When we go to the bedroom, he tossed me on the bed, and was on top of me in an instant. Something had changed though. He went from being playful to a bit serious. He just stayed there on top of me for a moment, and stared into my eyes. He seemed troubled.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and placed a hand on his cheek. He kissed it.

"I love you."

"Oh."

"Oh?" he said, and raised an eyebrow.

I tried to change the subject by getting back to the sex. I leaned up to kiss him, but he leaned away, and then was off me and standing at the edge of the bed, messing with his jeans. He pulled out his cell phone, and then got back in bed, and laid on top of me again.

"What are you doing?" I asked, completely puzzled.

He still didn't say anything, but was doing something on his phone. Then I heard something start to play, and he put his phone on speaker.

A robotic woman's voice came over the speaker of his phone. "_You have one saved message: It's Sookie. That asshole Clark kissed me tonight. I'm not speaking to him anymore. I kinda kissed him back, but I don't know if you can tell that I'm drunk, but I am. It just happened. I miss you, and I love you."_

Well hell. I didn't remember leaving that message, but it was clearly me. Eric was now grinning from ear to ear. I threw my hands over my face, and Eric chuckled.

"Well Lover? I'm waiting." he said, and I felt him shift in bed, and heard him set his phone on the nightstand.

"I was drunk, I didn't know what I was saying." I'm such an idiot. I could see the smile start to drain from his face, but he didn't move. "I don't know if I'm ready to say it back Eric."

"At least not sober. You can deny it all you want, but I know you meant it then, and I know you still feel it now, even if you don't want to say it." he said, and it seemed like he was saying it to me, and to himself. After that, he seemed to have convinced himself of it, and the smile returned to his face. "Now, you appear to be to clothed for this situation."

With that, my bra and panties were gone, and he was smothering his face in my neck, and then working his way down my body. He was following almost the same path I had followed on him, except when he got to my belly button, he didn't stop there, which was a good thing. I was on fire. He made his way down between my legs, and started to rub my nub with his thumb, and then replaced his thumb with his tongue. I arched my back and let out a long moan when he did. He inserted a finger into me, and then a second. He was testing to make sure I was ready for him. After only a few minutes, I was on the edge. I whimpered when he stopped. He climbed back up so that we were face to face, and positioned himself at my entrance, but didn't proceed.

"Are you ready Lover?" he asked, and I nodded my head, and gripped his back to urge him on. He kissed and nuzzled my neck for a moment, and then looked me in the eyes before he pushed in. I gasped as he entered. It was slow, and torturous, and it stayed that way. Except that after a while, it wasn't torturous. It was wonderful. We made love, slowly. Enjoying all of each other. He showered me with kisses on my lips, my jaw, my neck, and my collar. I did the same to him. Our hands were all over each other, slowly caressing every part of each other. We kept eye contact most of the time, and when we didn't, we watched each other. Without speaking a word, we both climaxed at the same time. It was the most amazing experience I had ever had. When we finished, he laid next me, and pulled me to him so that we were on our sides and facing each other. He wrapped his arm and leg over me, and kissed me on my forehead. I looked up at him.

Eric looked down at me, "Get dressed."

"What?" I asked, as he broke our embrace, and gathered his clothes from the floor, and started to dress himself.

"I said get dressed. I want to do something. Come with me."

I emerged from my room, and found Eric in front of the fire place, lighting a fire. I walked over to the couch and sat down. He joined me, and I snuggled up to him. He put his arm around me, and we just sat there and watched the fire.

"Why did you want to come out here?" I asked. Something was up with him, and I really wished he would just spit it out already. I could only be so patient.

"It's nice out here. It reminds me of when I was here without my memory. Talking with you in front of the fire is one of my fondest memories of us." he said, and pulled me even closer, practically making us one person.

We lounged there for a while and I could see on his face a million things were running through his mind. I finally had had enough. I sat up so that I could look him in the eyes. He looked worried. "Would you just tell me whatever it is you have on your mind already." I said, and then smiled cause that came out a little harsher than I meant it to.

"Sookie, I want you to come live with me. I want you to leave your job. I know you enjoy working, so we can find something for you to do at Fangtasia if you want. You can keep this house, and rent it out or something, I don't care."

I was speechless. This didn't sound like a request, it sounded like an order, which is exactly what I said to him.

"Maybe it is. You would be safer living and working with me. I would be able to watch you and make sure you were safe."

"But we don't have to worry about Victor any more. I don't want to leave my job, I like my job. And I don't want to leave my home. I love this home. It's my home."

"I'm not talking about Victor. There will be other threats. Felipe could always change his mind about you, and chose to just take you if he decides. I need to be able to protect you." he said, and nodded to himself, like he was making the point to himself.

"I don't think Felipe would actually do that after everything. And I can protect myself." I said, and got off the couch. I headed to the kitchen to get some water. Eric stayed on the couch. I stood leaning on my kitchen table, and looked out at Eric. He looked terrible. He looked torn, and troubled. He put his hand up and rubbed his face, and then shook his head. And then it hit me. Was he trying to pick a fight with me?

Eric finally got up and joined me in the kitchen. He went to the fridge and got a True Blood, and then heated it up in the microwave. We didn't say anything, but I was watching him like a hawk, trying to figure out what he was up to. He wouldn't make eye contact with me.

"You can't protect yourself like I can protect you." he finally said, to the microwave, still not looking at me.

"I won't leave here Eric." I said, looking at him, trying to get him to face me.

"I can force you if I have to."

"I'd like to see you try." I said, and took a sip of my water. Before I knew it, Eric had come up behind me, and pushed me down into the chair I was standing near. He was pinning me to the seat by my shoulders. I dropped my glass, and it shattered on the floor. I froze in fear. He was furious, and it didn't take a blood bond to tell me that. I finally managed to squeak out a sentence. "Let me go." I sounded pitiful and not very convincing at all.

"Do you realize what you have done to me woman?" he said, and took his hand away from my mouth, and brought it down to my neck and kept a loose grip. I would have said something, but I recognized this Eric. This was pissed off Eric. This was Eric who had once said he should end my life so that he wouldn't have to think about me anymore back before he remembered what had happened to him while he had amnesia and had stayed with me. I kept my mouth shut now because I knew better.

"Do you remember what I told you at my house when I asked you if you loved me?" he said, and lowered his lips to my ear. I was completely frozen in fear. He whispered this next part into my ear, and it sent chills through my body. "Can you believe I'm not thinking of you while I work? When my eyes open, I think of you, every part of you. Do you remember that? Do you remember tonight when I told you I loved you? Never in a thousand years has any human affected me this way. I think that I cannot live like this another night."

He moved his head away from my ear and trailed his lips down to my neck. I stiffened in fear, and he could feel it. "Do you think I mean to kill you tonight Sookie? To get you out of my head for good?"

"I don't know." I said meekly, the first time that I had been able to speak clearly this entire time.

"I thought about it a few months ago you know. When we went to the cabin. When no one knew where you were except for Pam, Compton, and myself. It was the only way I could figure to get you out of my head Sookie Stackhouse." he replied, working his way back up to my ear, and whispering into it again.

"You don't mean that." I said, starting to get myself back in control.

Eric, still with an arm wrapped around my torso to keep my in place, now moved his hand that was on my neck up, and lifted up my chin, and wasn't gentle about it. "Oh but I did. I loved you then, and you did nothing but reject me. Turn from me when I was doing everything I could to protect you. You made a fool of me. No one makes a fool of me." he said. He practically hissed it into my ear.

"You need to leave." I said sternly, and wiggled to get free, but he just tightened his grip on me.

"I don't think we are done talking yet." he said, and pushed me back into a seated position in my chair. He put a hand on each shoulder, and applied enough pressure so that I was pinned down in my seat, but I didn't fight him on it, yet.

"Well I think we are." I hissed back at him, and tried to get up, but his grip on my shoulders stopped me. I had seen pissed off Eric, and cornered Eric, but I was realizing that this was a whole new Eric being unleashed on me tonight. I wasn't sure what to do. It was like he was drunk, or had gone completely insane. I realized that I didn't really have a choice at this point but to sit here and let him speak.

I was also utterly confused. Less than an hour ago, we had made love. He had told me he loved me. I tried to stay calm, and not start crying with the thought of him earlier, compared to now. I closed my eyes, and was focusing on staying relaxed until he was done with whatever the hell this was.

"You are not a stupid woman Sookie." he said now, still standing over me, but now speaking in a normal tone, not bent over whispering or hissing into my ear. "You know that I am not a stupid man. You need to understand that when I tell you that it's for your own safety that you come to stay with me, that it's what's best for you and for me. You know that I always protect my property. My assets." he said, in a very flat tone. There was no emotion behind it. It was almost diplomatic. (Today's Word of the Day.) "What I don't understand is why you refuse to acknowledge this."

He was kidding right? Protect his property, his assets? I wondered if he counted me as his property or an asset. What happened to "I love you. I think of you all the time." Blah blah blah.

And then it happened.

I got a glimpse into his mind.

It didn't happen often. Actually, it had only happened a few times over the past few years. But each time is scared the hell out of me. Except for this time. Eric was thinking of how much he loved me, and of how sorry he was for doing this to me. Something bad was coming, and he was trying to protect me the best way he knew how. By getting me out of his life.

I couldn't let him fail. He loved me. He was trying to protect me. This wouldn't be the end of us. I knew it. I was about to give up my choice in the matter. I hating not having control. But for Eric, I would let him keep me safe. Because I knew it would help keep him safe. He wouldn't have to worry about me, and he could focus on himself. As long as he lived through whatever was coming, and I would be able to see him again, it was worth it.

I decided to play along.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" I asked. I was sounding more sure of myself and even toned now. In fact, I would even say there was a bit of a harshness to my voice. I had gone from scared and confused one minute, to pissed off the next, even if it was fake, I was doing a good job at it. "You told me you loved me not more than an hour ago. You want to know why I didn't say it back? Because I knew sooner or later, this would happen. I knew you would hurt me. I'm not blameless here, but I thought we had gotten through all that. I thought we had come to an understanding." I was talking through my teeth now. My jaw was clenched so tight from the anger I was trying to project. "I told you. I told you you would do this to me at one point or another. You're no better than Bill." I said, knowing this would be the nail in the coffin. No pun intended. I had to hold back a laugh.

Eric moved his hands then from my shoulders, and slid them seimouteinously up my neck, over my ears, tangled through my hair, and stopped so that he had a hand on either side of my skull. He applied a little pressure, and leaned back down and put his lips at my ear. "Like I care what you think of me."

"Eric, if you're done, I would like to be alone now. I don't ever want to see you again." I said, and made sure to show no emotion in my voice, just like him.

In a motion so fast that I couldn't see, and barely realized was happening, I was out of the chair, and pushed against the wall. My feet were barely touching the floor. Eric had a hand on either arm, holding me in place against the wall, facing him. His voice had said emotionless, but seeing his face now, that was clearly not the case. There were red streaks from his eyes, running all the way down his face. I was shocked for a moment by the quick movement, and finding myself pinned against the wall, and realizing that Eric had been crying while he was talking to me. But just for a moment. After that, the pain started to set in. He was gripping my arms tight, and it hurt.

"Eric, please, you're hurting me." I said in a shaky voice. I was surprised I was able to get a full sentence out.

Eric snapped out of it then, and looked at his hands pinning me to the wall. He realized what he was doing, and could see my skin turning white-white from the lack of blood flow due to the pressure he was applying. He looked absolutely horrified with himself. I could see a million thoughts running through his head then, but couldn't hear a single one of them this time, but I could sure see them making their way across his face. He gently lowered me down, and removed his hands. Then, without another word, he walked out the front door, and was gone.

I went to the front door and locked it. I turned off the lights in the living room and in the kitchen, and made my way back to my bedroom. I climbed into bed. I was on autopilot. I was upset, that was for sure. I just got dumped, sort of. Or did I dump him? Either way, Eric was gone. But it was for the best. There was something going on, and he wanted me out of harms way. And I didn't want to put him in harms way either by being a burden on him. I didn't want him to worry about protecting me.

This was exactly what I had wanted from Quinn. I wanted to come first. I never really thought that I would come first for Eric, but I thought wrong. I flashed back to the look in his eyes when he had me pinned to the wall. His actions scared me, but his eyes were full of pain. He didn't mean it, and I didn't mean it. But neither of us wanted to see the other get hurt.

I loved him.

I took the pillow that he had rested on earlier in the evening, and hugged it to my body, and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so don't hate me. Remember, I'm an Eric/Sookie supporter!**

**I know I put that I had an A/N at the end here, but I forgot what I was gonna say by the time I finished going through this chapter.**

**Anywho, here's the lyrics to Devour by Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner if you didn't know. Inspiration for part of the names of the two characters I did make up. Both sleazebags, which I want to say does in NO WAY reflect how I feel about my future baby daddy, Marilyn Manson. **

**I feel like this song is a good representation of Eric and Sookie. I can see both of them saying this to each other, you know what I mean?**

**I wish someone who makes those fan vids on youtube would do one with this song.  
**

**Here's a link to the song on youtube. **.com/watch?v=p1ZaPpma9p8

**And here's the lyrics.**

I'll swallow up all of you  
Like a big bottle of big, big pills  
You're the one that I should never take  
But I can't sleep until I devour you  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
You're a flower that's withering  
I can't feel your thorns in my head

This is no impressionability  
You're not crying, this is blood all over me  
You're not crying, this is blood all over me  
You're not crying, this is blood all over me  
And I'll love you, if you let me  
And I'll love you, if you won't make me starve

I used to hold your heart to neck  
I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes  
But this is loaded with an open film  
I'll see you and I'll blow your heart to pieces  
I will blow your heart to pieces  
I will blow your heart to pieces  
I will blow your heart to pieces  
And I'll love you, if you let me  
And I'll love you, if you won't make me starve  
Oh oh oh oh... Oh oh oh oh... Oh oh oh oh... Oh oh oh oh...

My pain's not ashamed to repeat itself  
Pain's not ashamed to repeat itself  
Pain's not ashamed to repeat itself  
Pain's not ashamed to repeat itself  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
I can't sleep until I devour you  
And I'll love you, if you let me  
And I'll love you, if you won't make me starve


	44. Chapter 48

**I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me. I love Eric and Sookie together, trust me.**

**I figured one more tonight won't hurt I guess. Just read, and trust that things will be alright.**

**This starts 3 years after the last chapter.**

**Charlaine Harris owns all the characters.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies.  
**

* * *

The next three years seemed to fly by, and nothing really about my life changed. Bill left shortly after I came back home. He came to apologize to me, and explained that he was going to spend time in South America with his vampire sister Judith. I hadn't seen him since, but I did get the occasional letter from him to check in with me, and let me know how he was doing.

Jason got married, and he and his wife were expecting their first child. He was still completely clueless as to what had happened to me, and I was glad for it. I was still working for Sam, and I was still working for Felipe. I went out to Vegas about three times a year for a week or so. He would put me up at the hotel, although I insisted on having a standard room. He paid me well, and timely. It actually wasn't a bad deal.

And then there was Eric. I hadn't spoken with him since the night we "fought". Pam came to see me every now and then, and sometimes she would spend the night in the woods outside my house. I could tell she was there, but I don't think she meant for me too.

And sometimes Eric was there, when he could be. I wanted to run out and tell him everything, but I didn't. For my safety, and for his. We had already seen what could happen when people used us against each other.

Shortly after Eric has left me, there was trouble in the great state of Louisiana. With Victor gone, and Felipe De Castro being clear across the country, and no replacement for Victor in place yet, the surrounding states made a move to take over. According to Pam, Eric took the place of Victor until order could be restored. But that wasn't without battle.

Pam had told me there were many aggressors from the surrounding states. Many of the vamps that had taken over the different areas when Felipe took over originally lost their lives, and Felipe had to send in reinforcements from Nevada, leaving him weak there. Eric had even been injured at one point, quite badly. He was out of commission for almost a month. But in the end, Louisiana and Felipe proved victorious. He put Eric in charge after that.

I had figured this was what Eric was trying to keep me out of. After about a year in that position, Felipe finally replaced Eric, at Eric's request. Pam didn't go into further detail on that, even though I had asked. But I knew the answer. I knew Eric liked having his little piece of power over Area 5, and he liked running his business. It was all he needed.

What I didn't understand was why he didn't come back to me after it was over. Battle over with, Eric back as Area 5 sheriff, order restored. What about me?

I wanted to ask Pam about it once, but it would have given me away. I did ask her to send Eric my regards, and the next time I saw her, she said Eric didn't have anything to say to me in return. I was crushed. But I guess that's what I deserved isn't it? After everything was said and done, I knew Eric didn't really feel all those terrible things he had said about me, but he had no clue I was lying to him about the things that I said.

In the end, I decided this was probably best, and resolved myself to just move on, and that's what I did.

It was the week before Halloween. I got up at around eleven in the morning, and got started with my day. I had to work the closing shift at the bar, but I had talked Sam into letting me and Holly decorate again this year, so I was going in early to get that started. I headed out around one, and when I got to the bar, I headed to the store closet to get the decorations.

It was a pretty dead afternoon. The lunch rush was gone, and the dinner crowd wouldn't be headed in for a few more hours, so I had plenty of time to take care of the decorating before that happened. The only person working was Holly, and between handling her tables, she would help me decorate, and we got it done in no time. I now had an hour and a half to kill before my shift. I headed to Sam's trailer.

Sam and I had gotten pretty close about a year after Eric and I split. Closer than we had been previously anyway. We dated, and it didn't end well, but we were back to being friends now. It was still a little awkward every now and then, but we were dealing with it.

I knocked on the door to his trailer. "Sam, it's Sookie. You there?"

I heard him moving towards the door, and he answered, and let me in. I plopped down on his couch. "You busy?" I asked.

"Nope, just relaxing. What are you doing here so early? I thought you were working the closing shift."

"I am, but I came in early to decorate. Finished earlier than I thought I would. Got an hour and a half to kill. Didn't want to head back home."

"So you came to bug me instead?" he said, and shot me a smile.

"What else was I supposed to do?" I said, and winked back at him. "So you tending bar tonight?"

"Yeah." Sam said as he sat on the couch next to me, and took the TV off mute. He had been watching the news. We sat there silently for a while, before there was a knock at the door. Sam got up to answer, and it was Holly.

"Hey Sam, sorry to bother. Sookie here?" she asked, and Sam opened the door up wider so that she could see me sitting on the couch. "Hey Sook, you got a call at the bar. Someone by the name of Mr. De Castro. He said it was important that you call him back right away. He said you would know the number."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks Holly. I'll call him now."

She waived bye, and Sam shut the door. He didn't look happy.

"Say what you're gonna say Sam. Get it over with." I said, and threw my hands up in the air in frustration. Sam gave me a hard time whenever Felipe called, because he knew it meant that I would be going to Vegas again, alone. That was a big reason we didn't work out. He hated that I still kept myself working for Felipe.

"Sook, I really don't get it. You don't have to go out there. You can quit."

"No, I can't. I need the money."

"You did just fine before without it."

"No, I didn't. I was barely making it by once Gran was gone. Are you finished, or are we going to have the same argument we have each time he calls?" I said, and got up off the couch.

Now it was Sam's turn to throw his hands up in the air from frustration.

"That's what I thought. Now, can I use your phone?" I asked, and he pointed to the kitchen where it hung on the wall. "Thanks."

Sam sat back down on the couch, and put the TV back on mute. The phone rang once before Felipe picked up.

"Mees. Stackhouse, thank you for getting back to me so quickly."

"No problem. How can I help you?"

"The West Coast Summit is quickly approaching. I would take great honor if you would join me." (AKA, you need to be there Sookie.) "It will be taking place the first week in November. I understand that you have been to a Summit before, is that correct?"

"Yep."

"Good. So you know what to expect. You will have the final flight arrangements within the next week."

"Perfect. How long will I be out there for?"

"A week. And your compensation will be the usual."

"Great. See you then." I said, and with that, we hung up, and headed back to the couch, and plopped back down next to Sam.

"How long you need off?" he asked without looking at me.

"A week. First week in November actually." I said, not looking at him either.

"You know, I should just deny your time off. That way you can't go."

"Sam, are you trying to cause trouble for me?" I asked, and elbowed him, trying to lighten the mood. "Look, I know you hate it, but I don't mind. Felipe pays me well. Very well actually. I get put up at a nice hotel, I get waited on twenty-four seven, and all's I have to do is sit in on a few meetings basically. It's not that terrible."

Sam finally looked at me, and I could see in his mind he was debating on fighting me more on this or not. He decided to give up. "Fine." was all he said.

A week later, I was getting ready to leave. I was pretty much packed, and I was just tying up some minor loose ends for while I would be away. I had an hour before the limo would be here to take me to the airport. I had taken the previous two days off work as well, to adjust myself to staying awake all night, and sleeping during the day for the most part. I had found it was just easier that way. As it was, I was already pretty much adjusted to the night schedule, so being up in the afternoon was throwing me off, and I was tired.

Sam called to say goodbye, and told me to call him once I got to Vegas, and to check in with him as often as I could. He always worried about me whenever I went to Vegas. I had brought him with me once while we were dating, but Felipe felt that Sam was to much of a distraction. Not that I was distracted, but that Sam was trying to distract me. He just asked that the next time I came out, that I did it alone.

There was a knock at the door, and I looked to see that it was from Anubus Air, but it wasn't the limo they normally sent, it was there shuttle. The driver helped me with my bags, and I finished locking up the house. When we were on the road, I asked why we had the shuttle this time.

"Picking up two more passengers." he replied.

"Human?" I asked, I wished, I hoped.

"No ma'am." he said, and smiled at me through the rear view mirror.

I knew who we were picking up. I let out a big sigh. I was already regretting the trip, and wanted to go home.

We pulled up to Eric's house. I stayed in the shuttle while the driver went to his front door. A man answered. Must have been one of his day people I figured. He let the driver in, and they came out shortly after with a coffin, and loaded it into the shuttle. They both went back in, and came out a few minutes later with his luggage.

Even though he was asleep in the coffin behind me, I was uncomfortable. I could feel the tears welling up. It would be sunset while we were in the air. I wondered if Eric would wake up, and come into the cabin of the plane, or just stay in the coffin. I asked the driver once we were on our way.

"There's access for him to get to the cabin from where the coffins are stored. I imagine he wouldn't want to stay locked up down in the cargo hold the whole trip. You going to be alright?" he asked. He must have seen the horrified expression that I'm sure was plastered all over my face.

"I guess I'm going to have to be." I said, and stayed silent the rest of the way to the airport.

Once I was on the plane, I noticed my nerves about having to see Eric were outweighing my nerves over flying. I was a wreck. I contemplated just going back home, and telling Felipe that something came up, and I wasn't able to attend. But I couldn't do that. I needed the money.

After we took off, I stared out the window, waiting for dusk, and Eric to rise. I wondered if he knew I would be on the flight. I wish Felipe would have warned me. I didn't have to wait long once I saw the sun set. Luckily, we were almost to Vegas, so if he did come up to the cabin, I wouldn't have to see him for very long.

He came up shortly after. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to find out he was going on the trip. The sight of me seemed to render him speechless for a moment. He just stared at me, and I stared at him. I finally broke eye contact first, and turned to look out my window.

"Hello Sookie." he said as he took a seat at the back of the plane, about as far from me as he could get. I was glad he did.

"Eric." was all I said. Actually, that was the only thing we said to each other the rest of the flight.

When we landed, I got off the plane first, and they were already loading out bags into a limo that was waiting for us. I could see that they had loaded his bags, and were getting ready to load mine.

"Wait, um, could you maybe call me a cab instead?" I asked the driver. Eric came down the steps from the plane, and heard me asking for the cab.

"You don't have to do that. She can ride with me in the limo." he said, and I didn't look at him. The driver looked at me, and after a moment, I waived him on to just load my bags, and I climbed into the limo. Eric climbed in shortly after me, and I sat as far away from him as possible.

"How have you been?" he asked once the door was shut.

"Fine, thank you."

"That's good to hear."

I was quite for another moment, and Eric opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, I cut him off. "If it's alright with you, I would rather just get through this trip with as little contact as possible." I said, all business in my voice.

Eric chuckled a little. "If that's what you wish." he said, and didn't say another word.

My mind was screaming at me to get out of Vegas. Get away from Eric. Don't talk to him, don't be around him, nothing. Just get away. You don't want to go down this road again. My heart was screaming to leap into his arms. Tell him how much you miss him, how much you still love him. That you never stopped loving him. That you know he left you to keep you safe, and he didn't mean the things he said, and you didn't either. This fight between mind and heart was playing out all over my face and body. I had completely tensed up, and Eric was staring at me funny.

"Sorry to break the rules so quickly, but are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I said, and continued to stare out the window.

As soon as we got to the hotel, I headed straight for check-in. Eric followed close behind. I got to the counter, and he stayed back about five feet to wait his turn.

"There are other counters you know. Someone else could help you." I finally said. I could feel him staring at me, and it was driving me bonkers.

"I thought we weren't speaking." he said, and chuckled a little. Great, now he thought this was funny. I didn't respond. It was safer that way.

I got my room key, and left to head to the elevators. When I got there, I hit the button to head up, and while I was waiting, Eric appeared at my side.

"Mind if I ride up with you?" he asked. I just rolled my eyes. He smiled at me, and I averted my eyes away from him.

We rode up in silence. He was staying on the same floor as me. I thought he was following me at first, but then I glanced at his little room key packet, and saw he was on the same floor. But it looked like he wasn't near my room. Thank goodness.

I was wrong.

He was two doors down from mine, on the opposite side of the hall. I had waited at my door to see where he what room he was going in to. I pretended to be fumbling in my purse for something, but he caught me glancing at him, and chucked again when he saw how close our rooms were. I could hear him laughing as his door shut.

I instantly called the front desk once I was in my room, and asked if they could switch me. They couldn't. My room was special requested apparently. Felipe wanted us all close.

The phone rang while I was unpacking. I was scared to answer it right away. I was worried it was Eric. But I had to answer it, in case it was about work.

"Hello?"

"Miss. Stackhouse?"

"Richard? I told you to call me Sookie." I said, and giggled a little. I actually giggled a little louder than was necessary in hopes that Eric could hear me with his vampire hearing.

"Sorry Sookie. Listen, just calling to welcome you, and let you know that Felipe wants everyone to meet in his room tomorrow, ten pm sharp."

"No problem. Formal or informal?"

"Informal. Just a rundown of what's planned for the week."

"Sounds good. See you then Richard."

"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for dinner tonight? Catch up?"

Oh this was perfect! "I'd love to. Give me thirty to finish unpacking and change? Come meet me at my room?"

"Works for me." he said. And with that, we ended our call.

What the hell had gotten into me? I know what had gotten into me. Eric. I wanted him to see me having a life. I wanted him to be jealous. Oh if Gran could see me now. She's be ashamed. No matter though. I had a date.

Richard and I had met on my first trip back to Vegas after Eric and I split. He was one of the new guys on Felipe's totem pole of day guys. He was slowly working his way up. I had been cautious to befriend him at first. Understandably. But after listening to EVERY though he had my entire first trip, by the end, I was starting to ease up around him. When my second trip came, we started to spend time together. We became fast friends, and nothing more.

Don't get me wrong, Richard was handsome. He was rugged looking. About six foot, dark brown hair, stubble of the same shade, and muscular. He had some of the greenest eyes I had ever seen. His hair was short but scruffy. He had a million dollar smile, and was as shy as the day is long. He was also punctual. A good trait in his line of work. I answered the door.

"Hey stranger." he said, and gave me a hug. Hey may have been shy, but once you got in with Richard, he was a teddy bear.

"Hey sweetie. You wanna come in for a minute? I'm almost done unpacking."

He came in, and sat at the desk that was in my living room. Did I mention my room? There was a living room, a small kitchenette, and then in a separate room, there was the bedroom, and a huge bathroom. It wasn't the suite that I had the first time I came out here, but it was much more than I needed. Felipe insisted that this was a downgrade, and that he didn't want people to think he was poor or ill-mannered, so this was as scaled down as he was willing to get with my room. He thought it was very cute and un-human like of me to ask for a less extravagant room.

I went into my bedroom, and finished hanging stuff up in the closet while Richard stayed in the living room area. It only took me a few minutes, and then I joined him back in the living room.

"Eric's here." I told him, and took a seat on the couch. Did I mention there was a couch?

"I know."

"And you didn't think to warn me that he was coming?" I said, and frowned at him.

"I would have if I had known before tonight. I swear."

"I know you would have. Sorry. Did you know he's staying two doors down, on the other side of the hall?"

"That I didn't know." he said, and then got very quiet. "Do you think he can hear us?" he asked in a whisper.

I fell to pieces. I couldn't control my laughter. Now it was Richards turn to frown at me, and he seemed to deflate. I gained control of myself finally. "I honestly don't know. Probably a little. But it doesn't matter. You ready for dinner?"

We went down to the café. The same place I used to come with Clark. But I wasn't going to think about that. We talked for a few hours while we slowly ate. Mostly, the conversation kept coming back to Eric. It was getting annoying.

"So after you went into your room, that was it? He hasn't tried to call you or anything?" Richard asked.

"Nope. I called the front desk, asked to switch rooms, was denied, and then you called."

"What are you going to do if he wants to pick things back up? You know, be with you again?"

"I don't want to be back with him."

"Bullshit."

"Okay, I've had enough Eric talk. I need a drink. Piano bar?"

"Piano bar."

The piano bar was a favorite hang out for Richard and I. He loved the place, and so did I. The music and atmosphere was awesome. I hadn't really like it when I had come here with Clark, but Richard showed me how to enjoy myself there. And I did. I enjoyed myself five gin and tonics worth.

"Sookie, I'm not letting you drink anymore. This is just crazy." Richard said, half laughing as we rode up the elevator to my room. He was practically holding me up.

"Oh don't be such a sour puss." I said.

"Sour puss… nice." he said with a chuckle.

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. Richard walked me down the hall, and leaned me against the wall when we got to my room.

"Key?" he asked, and held his hand out. I dug in my purse for it, and handed it to Richard once I had found it. Then I dropped my purse. Then I dropped myself. I was stunned for a minute, and then I burst into laughter.

"Sookie! Shhhh! Jesus, come here Sook." Richard said, and leaned down to lift me up. I reached out to him, still laughing, and then I saw him look to his left, and freeze. I followed his gaze. Eric was standing outside his door, staring at us.

"Mr. Northman, I'm sorry if we disturbed you." Richard finally said, and fumbled for me to help me up.

"Yes, you should be." he said, and walked over to us. Richard stepped out of his way, and Eric lifted me up. "Open her door." Eric said, and Richard complied.

They walked in, and I rode in, slung over Eric's shoulder. I may have been drunk, but I had enough sense about me to not to shiver when he touched me. I didn't want to show any weakness towards him.

We went into the bedroom, Richard leading the way, Eric second, with me still over his shoulder. Richard turned on the bedroom light, and Eric rested me on the bed. He was quite gentle about it. We made eye contact for a moment when he had completely sat me down on the edge of the bed, but I averted my eyes first. I looked to Richard, and widened my eyes in a "holy crap" kind of look. He returned the sentiment mentally.

Richard came over to Eric, who was now kneeling in front of me, and taking off my shoes and socks. "I think I can take it from here Mr. Northman. Again, so sorry to disturb you, and thank you for your assistance." God bless him for trying.

Eric turned to Richard, and I thought he was going to take Richards head off. Eric stood, and got face to face with him. "I think you should leave now." he said to Richard.

Richard looked at me, and I nodded that it was alright. "Call me if you need anything." Richard added before he left.

"She won't." Eric said as Richard started to make his way out of the room.

"Thanks Richard." I said, and he was gone. I heard the front door shut. "I can take care of myself." I said to Eric as he turned to look for something for me to change in to.

"I know you can." he said as he went through each drawer until he found my night clothes. He came back over to me, and laid the night shirt down on the bed next to me. "Arms up." he said, and I just stared up at him with a confused look on my face. Did he really think I was going to change in front of him?

"I'm not so drunk that I can't change my own clothes." I said.

"Alright. Change then. I'll be right back." he said and left the room, and went to the kitchenette. I took the night shirt and went into the bathroom to change. When I came out, Eric was back in my room, standing by my bed. The room was starting to spin. Eric came over and scooped me up, then laid me in bed and pulled the covers over me.

"Here." he said, once I was settled. He handed me some aspirin and potassium pills, and a tall glass of water. I took them, and downed the pills, and as much water as I could. Eric propped up a few pillows behind me so that I was quite elevated. It helped the spinning to slow.

"Thank you." I said. Eric smiled down at me. Then I was out.

* * *

**I was thinking of doing a side story about Sam and Sookie. About them dating. But it won't be until after this is complete.**

**Also, I thought this was a nice note for Eric and Sookie to end on for the night. It started off awkward, but got better at the end here, don't you think?**

**They've been apart as a couple for three years. It's bound to be a little awkward, but in a way, it's a good thing.**

**Sookie got a bit of a chance to grow up, and Eric got to keep her safe. He never really left her alone. He sent Pam, and he came sometimes too. It was more of a connection thing. If he made it seem like they weren't together anymore, and he didn't care about her, she probably wouldn't be used as leverage anymore over him.**

**Now that Sookie is a little maturer, I wonder if they will finally have that talk? :)  
**

**I'm going to try to update each night, but I'm getting ready to do a zombie walk in Pasadena, CA this upcoming Saturday. I have a new outfit that I have to zombie-fy, and some serious hustling for donations for the walk. That's right, zombies are undead, and charitable.**

**The walk is also a toy drive for Spark of Love, which is run by the LA County Fire Dept. Toys go to needy children in the community.**

**If you like zombies, and thought it might be fun to be one for a night, you can find the details here.**

**www(dot)socalzombiewalk(dot)com**

**Basically, you dress like a zombie, and you walk from point A to point B, and point B is usually point A. We start and stop in the same location most of the time.**

**It's lots of fun, and Zombie Clause will be there too. All ages are welcome to participate, and yes, I have been to walks where people bring there kids as zombies, and it's a lot of fun.  
**

**I hope that I didn't scar to many of you with the previous chapter, and that you stick it out and have faith. :)**

**I don't know that I can say it enough, I LOVE ERIC & SOOKIE!**

**Night!  
**


	45. Chapter 49

**So I had a great idea for a side story once this is done. I think I might put aside the Sam and Sookie, and Eric's 2 weeks side story for this one first. It's Eric themed. It's good. I just hope I can execute it how I see it in my head.**

**Working feverishly to keep ahead of ya'll. I'm close to having ya'll caught up to where I am at writing this.**

**Only one chapter tonight.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters. Except for Richard. He's mine now too. I like him. **

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the phone ringing, but I didn't answer. Oh my head! I laid in bed for a moment, and then realized that I was in my night shirt, and actually in bed, and the last thing I remembered was being at the piano bar? No, I remembered leaving… oh God. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, and knelt in front of the toilet. I'm never drinking again.

I was pretty sure my stomach was settled after about thirty minutes. I went back to bed. I noticed a glass of water on the nightstand with two aspirin next to it, and a note. I took the aspirin, and my stomach churned. I picked up the note once I was sure the aspirin was going to stay down. It was from Eric.

_My Former Lover,_

_You were quite a sight last night. I hope the morning finds you feeling better. I will see you tonight._

_~E_

"My Former Lover" The nerve. I laughed, and it sent a queasy rumble through my stomach. The phone rang again, and I answered this time.

"Hello?"

"Well well, look who's alive." Richard said, and laughed. "So that was Eric huh? Scary. You tamed that beast?" he asked.

Now I laughed, but stopped quickly. My head was pounding. "Yeah, that was him. Did you stick around while he was here?"

"Hell no. He told me to leave, and I left. First of all, he's technically like my boss. Second, I wouldn't have stood a chance if I resisted." he said jokingly. "And anyway, I could tell he wouldn't hurt you. He seemed to really just want to take care of you."

"Old habits die hard I guess."

"I guess. So how you feeling?"

"Terrible."

"Breakfast?" he asked, and my stomach churned again, but I knew I needed to eat.

"Meet you at the café in thirty?"

* * *

Richard and I were sitting in the café. It was almost noon now. It had taken me nearly an hour and a half, but I finished my oatmeal and toast and banana. I was on my third cup of coffee. Richard was having a beer. He said it was a great hangover cure, but having a beer was the last thing I wanted right now.

"So what happened after I left last night?" he asked. He was trying to avoid the Eric subject. He knew I didn't like talking about him to much. It still hurt.

"He tried to help me into my night shirt, but there was no way I was changing in front of him. He gave me water and aspirin and potassium. He tucked me in. That's it I guess. I kinda passed out after that."

"Do you want him back?" Richard asked, and looked away.

I looked down at my coffee. "I don't know." is what I said, but my heart was screaming yes.

* * *

I was back in my room getting ready for the evening meeting. It was nine thirty, and I was just finishing up getting ready. After breakfast, I had gone to the pool with Richard, and then come back and taken a nap. I was all rested for the evening. Richard was on his way to meet up with me and walk to Felipe's room with me. He was kind of like Clark. He was there for me as my personal assistant while I was in Vegas, but he didn't have the creepy "I secretly love you and want to kidnap you and stab you." quality that Clark had ended up having. Speaking of Richard, he was knocking at my door.

"You ready?" he asked when I answered the door. I was, so we left. I checked to make sure Eric wasn't on his way out his door before we left. He wasn't.

We got to Felipe's room, and Richard and I had a seat on the couch. I was still fighting a headache. Did I mention I was never drinking again? I rested my head on Richards shoulder, and he put an arm around me so that I could relax into him more. We were the first ones there aside from Felipe. He was on the phone with his main day guy though, so Richard and I just made ourselves comfortable.

Slowly, more of the vamps from his area started to arrive. Mostly sheriffs, some had their assistants with them, but most came alone. Then Eric came in. I didn't notice that he had come in, but I noticed him when he rested across the wall from us, and just stared. It was making me uncomfortable so I sat up and Richard removed his arm from me. Eric was staring daggers at us. Not just me and not just Richard, but both of us. Richard noticed it to, and he scooted away from me ever so slightly on the couch. I gave Richard a quick look, and he scooted back to where he had been.

At ten sharp, the meeting started. Mostly, it was just a rundown of each day. The wedding that was happening between Washington and Idaho, the trial regarding Victor and his minions, who were still in Felipe's custody, still alive, and still being tortured from what I understood. An official recognition of the new sheriffs for Nevada and Louisiana, and a bunch of other little ceremonies and what not that didn't have anything to do with us.

"Mees. Stackhouse, I have a meeting tomorrow that I will need you to be a part of. I'm hiring a new company to supply donors for the guests, and I want to make sure they can be trusted. Be here at eight, club attire. We will be going out afterwards if this is successful. You may bring Richard. Eric, and Samuel, I would like you both there as well."

Oh just lovely. "Yes sir. Anything specific I should be looking for?" I asked.

"The usual. If there is anything that is troublesome, I'm sure the general line of questioning I have will be able to weed that out, as you say?" Felipe said, and then rose from his seat, and came over to my and extended his hand. He helped me rise from the couch, and Richard rose with me as well. "I think this is all I will need from you this evening Mees. Stackhouse." he said, and kissed my hand. "Richard. Thank you both for your service. I will see you both tomorrow evening."

Richard and I both thanked Felipe, and made our leave. Eric's eyes followed us as we left the room. Once we were in the elevator, I relaxed. I had been so tense while we were in there because of Eric. Richard noticed.

"You alright?"

"Did you see how he was staring at us? Richard, I really want to just go home." I said, and out of no where, I started to cry. Richard wasn't used to me crying. It didn't happen to often anymore. Richard took me into his arms, and tried to soothe me. The elevator stopped on my floor, which was two floors below Felipe's. Richard took me to my room, and we sat on the couch. He hugged me to him again.

"Look, if you want, I can stay with you as much as you need. Keep Eric away as much as I can. If it's an issue, I'm sure Felipe would understand. Maybe say something to Eric?"

"No no, don't do that. Eric would get in trouble. Or I would. And I can't afford that, literally. I can deal with it. I have to. I don't have a choice. At least in the end I can say I was the bigger person right?"

"That's true. But Sookie, why is it bothering you so much that he's here?"

"It's just awkward, with the way we left things. I don't think I ever stopped caring for him, you know? We split to keep us both safe, and I had expected him to come back once that time had passed. But he didn't. And I didn't go to him. And now it's just weird, because I don't know where either of us still stands, and neither of us seems to be brave enough to go to the other." I sighed. "You are going to come with me tomorrow night right?" I asked.

"Only if you wear that black sparkly dress. The one you know I like. You did bring it right?" he asked, and gave me a quick smile. I chuckled a little, and wiped away the last of my tears.

"You know it." I said, and Richard rose from the couch. "Hey, thanks. For tonight… for everything."

"No problem. I got your back." Richard said as he made his way to the door. He let himself out.

Richard hadn't been gone more than thirty seconds when there was a knock at my door. I got up and checked through the peephole. It was Eric. I answered.

"Yes?" I asked, and Eric pushed his way into my room. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked as he headed to the living room area. He stopped in the middle and stood there. I walked over to him, and was ready to give him hell for this, and for earlier in the evening, when he grabbed me and kissed me. It was not welcome, but it was taking everything in me to not kiss him back. I pushed against his shoulders, and kept my mouth shut. He finally got the hint, and released me.

"Are you with that man?" he asked.

"That's not any of your damn business! And what the hell is wrong with you?" I was confused. No contact with me for three years, and one night in Vegas with me, and you just think you can come in here and kiss me? Be rude to my friend? Why won't you say what you want from me? Why won't I just say what I want from you? Because I can take my heart getting broken from anyone but you, that's why. So if I keep you at arms length, I won't risk it. I can take it from anyone but you.

"I don't like seeing you with someone else." he said in a huff.

"I'm not yours anymore, remember? It's none of your business. And I don't really care if you like it or not, you don't have any say over it." I said, and then there was another knock at the door. I went to open it, and thought that I did care how he felt about it. But this wasn't the time to tell him that.

"Sookie, are you alright?" Richard asked. I looked at Eric.

"You should go now." I said softly to Eric, and Richard walked in, and saw Eric. Eric walked past me, but paused in front of Richard. He seemed to be sizing him up, and then he flashed a fangy grin at him before he left. I shut the door and bolted it.

"What the hell was that?" Richard asked.

"He kissed me! He came in here, kissed me, and then asked me if I was with you!" I said, and threw my hands up in frustration. I stomped back to the living room and Richard followed.

"Do you want me to stay with you the rest of the night?"

"No, I'll be fine. Why did you come back anyways?"

"I was walking down to my room, and I heard him knock. I looked back just as he was going in, and I heard you yell at him." Richard said, and then averted his eyes. He never looked me in the face when he was going to tell me something he knew I didn't want to hear. "Guess now you know he wants you back."

"He doesn't. He's just mad thinking I'm with someone else. I can just imagine how many people he's been with since me. It boggles my mind to think of it. But I show any affection, even if it's platonic (Word of the Day, yes, I brought it with me to Vegas.), he can't take it." It reminded me of Bill to be honest. It wasn't really like Eric at all. It was a good sign perhaps.

Richard was silent for a moment before he responded. "Do you think he would really hurt me?"

"No, because he knows it would hurt me. And if he did want me back, the last thing he would do is hurt me like that."

"Good to know. So, were you going to turn in for the night, or did you want to go out and do something?"

"I think I'm going to call it a night actually. I kind of just want to be alone right now."

We said goodnight, and Richard left. I made sure to bolt the door, and stayed up for a while longer. It was around three in the morning when I finally went to bed. I laid there for a while. I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing. I couldn't stop thinking about Eric. I thought about going over to his room, and talking this out with him. It was a VERY long overdue conversation. Years overdue. But I decided against it, and around six in the morning, I finally fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up around four in the afternoon. I ordered myself some "breakfast" from room service, and I was done eating, I got ready to go out. Richard had left a message that he had some things to take care of, and would meet me at Felipe's room. He also reminded me to wear the black dress he liked.

I liked it to. It was beautiful, and it made me look amazing. It was a cocktail dress. It had black straps, not spaghetti, but not terribly wide either, and it went down about half way down my thighs. It was very form fitting, and gave a semi-modest view of my bosom. It wasn't low cut on the top, but it wasn't high either. Just low enough to let the girls peak out, and gave me amazing cleavage, not that I didn't have that already, but this dress made it look even better somehow. It was black, and sparkly. I had matching black pumps, and clutch. I did my hair up in a French twist, and gave myself that smokey eye look that was so popular.

It was seven forty five when I headed out. I peeked out the door to make sure Eric wasn't in the hallway, and once I could tell the coast was clear, I tried to leave my room as quietly as possible. I got to the elevator, and the doors were just about closed when a hand snuck in, and the doors opened back up to reveal Eric. I rolled my eyes, and his grew wider when he saw me.

He stepped into the elevator, but didn't say anything. I looked up at him after the doors shut, and although his mouth was closed, I could see that his fangs were out by the bumps against his lips. I rolled my eyes again. When the elevator stopped on Felipe's floor and the doors opened, Eric held out his arm to signal for me to exit first, and I did. He followed me to the door, but stayed a respectful distance back while I entered the room first, and then he followed shortly after.

Richard was already in the room, and he whistled as soon as I came in, and then quickly stopped as soon as Eric entered. I walked over to Richard, and he gave me a welcoming hug. I caught a glimpse into his mind, and heard him thinking that he hoped Eric was enjoying this. I gave him a little nudge in his gut and whispered "I heard that." Richard chuckled a little. When Richard had found out what I could do, and we became friends, he got in the habit of just thinking things at me. He knew I tried to keep a wall up most of the time, but he figured that every now and then I would pick up something. Then there were times where all's I had to do was give him a look, and he would have an entire conversation with me without saying a word, and I would just nod in answer, or say a word or two. I didn't mind. It was a nice way to keep our conversations as private as possible.

Felipe came in the room soon after we arrived, along with a human man dressed in a suit. He was in his forties, and was thinking about getting hired for the job Felipe had for him.

We started the meeting and Eric and Felipe asked the basic questions you would ask any person you were potentially going to hire. Mostly basic anyway. They also asked about the variety of human that they offered, and wanted to make sure that each was a registered donor for their field of work. I just sat there and listened with my mind while they asked their questions. Richard had left the room when the interview started so that he wouldn't accidentally interfere.

Once the interview was over, Richard was called back into the room, and Felipe asked him to take the gentlemen, who's name was David, down to the bar near the lobby, and we would be along shortly. As soon as they left the room, I let Felipe know that he was telling the truth, and hadn't picked up anything suspicious. David genuinely seemed to be on the up and up.

After that, Felipe excused Eric and I, and told us to go to the bar with Richard and David, and that him and Samuel would meet us down there in a few minutes. I was really getting tired of getting stuck alone with Eric.

"You look beautiful." Eric told me as we got in the elevator.

"Thank you. And thank you for the other night, when you helped me into bed."

"My pleasure."

"I'm sure." I said to myself, and Eric gave one of his grumbling laughs that rumble through his chest. I smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry about last night. I was… surprised to see you with someone else. I know you have seen other men, but seeing it with my own eyes… it didn't settle well."

Wow, this was surprising coming from Eric. I felt guilty then, thinking of how I would react if I saw him with another woman. I might not be as ladylike as I should. I knew that from experience actually, when Bill started dating after me.

I looked over at him. "We aren't dating. He's just a friend. He's my new Clark." I joked. Eric didn't think it was funny. His fangs came out again, and this time, he wasn't able to suppress showing them and hissing. "I'm sorry, that was a bad joke. You know what I mean though. He's my assistant when I'm out here."

It took Eric a moment to calm down, but he was fine by the time we got to the bar. I instinctively went to Richards side. He hesitated in putting an arm around me, but I told him it was alright.

Felipe joined us shortly after, with Samuel in tow, and we headed out to the club. We went to club Moon at the Palms. It was one of the few places at this point in Vegas that I hadn't been, so I was excited to go. I was also excited because Richard told me this club had an awesome VIP area, and as usual, we were in. Was it weird going with Felipe to clubs? Yes. Did I care? No. He usually sat in the VIP area of wherever we went and entertained whoever we were taking, and Richard and I would go dance and drink and just have fun. This was a big reason I didn't mind coming to Vegas to work. It was practically a paid vacation, with the VIP treatment.

When we got there, we were able to bypass the line that was in front. Eric was walking behind Richard and me, and I could see every single woman, and even some men, turning to stare at him. But I could feel that his eyes were only on me. I gripped Richard a little tighter, and he squeezed back.

"Just ignore it Sookie." he said in my ear. If I didn't already know he wasn't telepathic, sometimes I could swear that he could read my mind. I shook my head that I would try.

We were escorted to our VIP section, which was on a second floor balcony type setup, and bottles of alcohol and Champaign were brought out to us, along with bottled blood, and a willing donor who worked for the club. I tried not to pay attention to that. What I did pay attention to however was Eric drinking the bottled stuff. I knew he didn't care for it, and only drank it if he had to. I wanted to tell him that he didn't have to drink it on my account, but I thought better of it, because I really didn't want to see him drinking from someone else. Especially the woman who was the donor for our group. All's I'm going to say about her was she was pretty, and she would have been even prettier if she didn't look like a complete slut.

Richard sensed my tense mood, and took my hand. "Dance?" he asked, and smiled at me.

I shook my head, and we headed down to the dance floor.

I can't sing, and I can't play an instrument. But if I can do one thing, it's dance. So could Richard. The best part was, we could dance all night. I could be as suggestive as I was with Tara when we danced at Club Dead, and it didn't matter, sexually anyways, to Richard at all. No, he wasn't gay, but I wasn't his type. At least, if I was, he didn't mix work with pleasure. It wasn't like with Clark at all. Sometimes, I wished that Richard was interested, but he wouldn't leave his job here, and I wouldn't move out here to be with him, if it ever came to that anyways.

After about an hour on the dance floor, we headed back up to our VIP section to get some water. Richard hadn't overdone it the other night, so he was having champaign. He offered me some, and after some hesitation, I finally had a glass. Then I noticed Eric talking to a girl in the VIP area next to us. She was pouring it on THICK. I positioned myself around the table in our little area so that I was a bit closer to them without looking suspicious. Richard caught me, but didn't say anything, he just handed me another glass of champaign when he saw the look on my face after reading the woman's mind. She was considering an offer from him, but I wasn't close enough and it was to loud to get a clear picture of what that was. Richard finally had enough, and pulled me back over to him.

"Why do you torture yourself?" he asked.

I refilled my glass. "Because I can." I said and downed my drink. "Come on, lets dance." and I took his hand, and we went back out to the dance floor.

It was getting close to two in the morning now. I was exhausted. Richard and I had our last dance thirty minutes prior, and I was having my last glass of champaign before we left. We all headed out together, and got back into the limo, and headed back to the Paris. I was resting against Richard for the ride back to the hotel, and I started to drift in and out of sleep. To much dancing, and just enough alcohol to make me sleepy.

"Sookie, we're here, wake up." I heard Richard say. I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep. I opened my eyes, and we had parked, but everyone was still inside the limo. David hadn't come back with us I realized.

"Friends, tomorrow is the first night of the Summit is tomorrow evening. We will arrive together. I have arranged transportation for all of us. Please be in the west conference room tomorrow evening no later than eight. We will be leaving promptly at that time. Until then, you all have the rest of the evening off. Please remember, formal attire for tomorrow evening. Have a wonderful evening everyone." Felipe said, and with that, the limo door opened, and we exited.

"Mees. Stackhouse, may I speak with you for a moment in my room?" he asked, although I knew I couldn't say no.

"Sure." I said, and he motioned for me to follow him. Richard started to follow, but Felipe stopped him.

"Richard, I will be speaking with Mees. Stackhouse alone." Felipe said, and Richard nodded, and winked at me and said goodnight. Felipe and I headed to his room.

I had a seat on his couch, and he sat next to me. "Mees. Stackhouse, the second night of the Summit will be Victors trial. It has been decided that, although you are human, you are a key witness to his treason, and thus will be asked to testify against him."

I didn't know what to say. I was speechless… and terrified. I knew Victor wouldn't be able to get to me there. Well, I hoped he wouldn't. But I still didn't want to be in the same room as him. I didn't want to even be in the same building. I was actually trying to avoid going to the trial all together. Tears started to fill in my eyes. Felipe handed me a handkerchief, and I dabbed my eyes.

"This will be hard for you, I can see. But it is necessary." he said, and I shook my head in understanding. "You must understand, that this was not my decision. I am sorry for any trouble this is causing you." he said, and I still didn't speak, I only nodded, and fought the tears back. "Now, we have some things that we need to go over in regards to the trial, and I'm afraid we may not have time to do this tomorrow night, so we must do it now." And with that, I spent the next two hours reliving a past that I had tried very desperately to put behind me for the last two years.

I went back to my room alone, and when I got off the elevator on my floor, Eric was sitting by my door. My eyes were red from crying, and I was sure I looked a mess after the club and my two hour cry fest. I tried to fix myself as best I could before I got to my door. He stood up when I got to the door. He noticed something wasn't right with me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and took my chin in his hand to get a good look at my face. "Did he hurt you?" he asked, and growled a little.

"No, nothing like that." I said, and pulled my face from Eric's hand. I was digging around in my clutch for my room key, and once I found it, I opened my door, and Eric tried to follow me in. I hesitated a moment, and then let him in.

I went to the living room, and plopped myself down on the couch. "I have to testify for Victors trial."

"I see. Is that what Felipe wanted to speak with you about?" he asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Yes. I have to explain everything that happened. What Victor did back in Louisiana after Felipe took over and left, up to the ball when he attacked." I said, and the memory of it again got me crying again.

Eric pulled me to him, and I rested my face on his chest, and cried my eyes out. I had done my fair share of crying going over my testimony with Felipe, but I had been holding back as much as I could. Now, with Eric here, the person who went through all this with me, the only one who knew exactly how I felt about all if it, I felt like I could really let go, and I wasn't embarrassed. I didn't fight his embrace. I just let him comfort me.

After I had let it all out, Eric picked me up and carried me to my bed. Only, he didn't leave it at that. He walked around to the other side, and I heard him kick off his shoes and he climbed in next to me. I didn't fight him on it either. He pulled me to him, so that my back was to him, and I was curled up next to his body.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. We laid like that a few minutes before he spoke.

"If this is making you uncomfortable, I can leave." he said, and loosened his grip a little.

"No, it's fine." I said, and turned to face him. "What were you talking to that girl about earlier? The one at the club?"

Eric looked down and me and laughed a little. "David was interested in her. Felipe asked me to gather her for David. Were you jealous Sookie?" he said, and smiled at me.

"No." I said, and pouted a little. Yes, I was jealous, but I wasn't proud of it.

"That's what I thought." he said, and hugged me back to him, and rested his chin on my head.

We laid like that a while longer, and when it got close to dawn, Eric released me, and sat on the edge of the bed to put his shoes back on. I got out of bed, and took a nightshirt out of the dresser, and went into the bathroom to change. When I emerged, Eric was in the living room. I started to walk him to the door, and he stopped me.

"If you need to talk about this again, you can come to me if you want to." he said, and kissed me on my cheek then left. I had a glass of water, took two aspirin, and slept most of the day.


	46. Chapter 50

**Okay, one more for the night.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**

* * *

I got up around five that afternoon. I had a quick breakfast in my room, and got ready as much as I could before I headed down to the salon for my appointment. I had my nails and hair done, and then I headed back to my room to get dressed.

My dress was lovely. It was a red, floor length gown. It had an empire waist and was a halter top. It was a v-neck cut at the top, and just enough fabric to cover my goodies. It was satin and very form fitting. At the empire waist itself, there was a braid of crystals that went all the way around. I had red pumps and a red clutch to go with it.

Richard met me at my room at seven-thirty. He was in a tux, and he was handsome! "Wow, look at you." I said when I opened the door.

"Look who's talking. I think this is my new favorite dress on you." he said, and winked. I did a little spin for him, and he whistled like construction workers do in all the movies when a pretty girl passes.

We left and of course, Eric decided that this was the perfect time for him to leave as well, and he rode down with us in the elevator. None of us spoke. Once we got to the casino floor, Richard led us to where we were supposed to meet, and we found that nearly everyone was there.

Eric bowed to me, and then headed off to see the other area sheriffs from Louisiana.

"That was weird." Richard said once Eric had left.

"How? That was the least awkward it's been since I got here." I said and raised my eyebrows in question.

"Exactly. Did something happen that I missed?" he asked, and led us over to a corner of the room once he saw me blush from his question. "Okay, spill Stackhouse."

"My meeting with Felipe didn't go so well, but I can't really talk about it here. Anyway, Eric saw me when I was coming back to my room, and I was a mess, and he took me inside, and just comforted me. He's the only other person who understands why I was upset. You know what I mean?"

"Aaahh… yeah. Gotcha. But just FYI, that's still weird. Did he stay with you the rest of the night?" he asked.

"Yeah. We kind of cuddled. Well, he cuddled me. But I swear, nothing else happened." I paused for a moment before I continued. "I did a lot of crying last night having to dredge up old memories that I would rather just forget and move past. I needed Eric to be there once I left Felipe's room. If he hadn't been waiting at my door, I probably would have ended up knocking on his."

"Hey, I'm not judging." Richard said, and smiled at me.

We headed out shortly after, and piled into several limos. Richard and I rode with Felipe and Eric, along with a few other key sheriffs from Louisiana and Nevada. I was stuck sitting between Eric and Richard.

As we rode down the strip to the Las Vegas Convention Center, the only place large enough to accommodate the Summit, Eric leaned over and whispered in my ear. "You look lovely this evening." he said. The brush of his lips and his breath on my ear sent a shiver through me. It caught Richards attention, and he put his arm around me, thinking that Eric was making me uncomfortable. It was actually quite the opposite.

I guess Eric would always have that affect on me. I blushed, and tried to calm myself down before every vamp in the limo realized what Eric had done to me just by whispering in my ear. I especially didn't want Eric to know what he had done to me with the simple gesture, although I'm sure he knew what he was trying to do.

We got to the convention center without further incident. There were already quite a few vampires and people there, although it looked like most of the people where there as food instead of guests.

Felipe let us separate, and Richard and I explored the Summit. There was a giant room that was strictly vendors and I noticed that there was a table near the front that was selling the disc that Bill had put together. I had heard that after he was injured while trying to rescue me, that Felipe had someone else in Vegas take over the project. There was another room that was setup as a lounge with bottled blood, people, and a bar for any humans not there as food. There were couches and chairs all over the place, and the room had been decorated with dark red velvet pieces of cloth hanging from the walls, and lots of candlelight.

Richard and I stopped in this room and got ourselves a drink before we continued. The next room was empty of people, but was setup for some type of ceremony. I wondered if this was where the wedding would be taking place. There were seats setup and they were all facing a small stage that had an arch that was covered in red and black cloth.

We went to the next room, which was back by where we had entered, and it was the largest of them all. It was a ballroom. There was red and black cloth draped all over the walls. There was a small stage against one of the walls with a band and an orchestra. There was a table setup with food for the humans in attendance on the other end, along with a bar for humans, and a bar for vampires, with live food. It sent a shiver down my spine and Richard laughed at me. We both waived at David when we saw him working the vampire bar. He was making sure his employee's were in position, and looked the part.

"Want to dance?" Richard asked, and reached his hand out to me. I smiled and took it, and we headed to the dance floor. There were other vampires out there dancing, either with each other, or with their human companion. Richard and I appeared to be the only all-human couple on the floor.

I didn't recognize the song that was playing but it was perfect for a waltz, so that's what we did. Richard was an excellent dance partner. Not as good as Eric, but close.

We danced to a few songs before we went to get something to eat, and walk the vendors room. We had been there about two hours, and I was already board. We headed to the lounge that was setup, and found Felipe sitting with some other vampires that I didn't recognize, and he caught our attention and waived us over.

"Gentlemen, this is one of my subjects from Louisiana, Mees. Stackhouse. She is the one I was telling you about." he said, and I faced the other vampires he was sitting with and did the customary bow since vampires didn't shake hands. They each bowed in return. "Are you enjoying yourself Mees. Stackhouse?"

"Yes very much, thank you." I said, and smiled at Felipe.

"Good. Now, there is the presentation of the states in an hour, and I would like you to accompany our group for Louisiana. Be in the ballroom fifteen minutes before that. Afterward, you are free to leave for the evening if you wish."

"Thank you." I said, trying to be as proper as possible. I bowed again at each vampire, and Richard and I made our way to the bar to get another drink.

"Is this your first Summit?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's… interesting." he said as we reached the bar. We both got champagne, and then headed to a pair of empty lounge chairs.

"What's wrong, you look like something's bothering you." he asked after we sat down.

"I was just thinking. Almost every time I wear a pretty dress, it gets ruined. Usually by my blood, and I really like this dress, and I'm just worried." I said, and smoothed out my dress. Richard started laughing.

"You'll be fine Sook." he said and chuckled. He leaned over then and kissed my cheek like he normally does when he can tell I'm really nervous. Nothing new for us. Then we heard glass breaking. We looked around and found Eric leaving the room, and someone rushing over to clean up a broken bottle of True Blood off the floor where he had been standing. Richard and I looked at each other and Richard started to laugh, and then leaned back in to me and whispered "Drama queen." and we both laughed. I wasn't nervous anymore.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you his Majesty, Felipe De Castro and the Kingdom of Nevada and Louisiana." the announcer said from the stage. With that, our group of the two states, Felipe, the sheriffs, and any other key people for his state, including me, walked out to the middle of the ballroom floor. Each state had their groups together arranged around the ballroom floor, and as each state was presented, that King or Queen would walk out with their group, bow, and then return to their spots. It felt like roll call.

Once the last state was called, Southern California, since California was split up into three kingdoms, we dispersed. Felipe excused himself for the evening explaining that he had meetings to go to in preparation for tomorrow's trial, and gave us our leave if we wished.

Thinking of the trial made me nervous, and Richard put his arms around me and tried to calm me down. I was fighting back tears. "Can we leave now please?" I asked into his chest, and he shook his head. He led us out the main door, and they pulled a limo up for us.

Richard walked me to my room, and came inside. "Well, you're dress is still in one piece." he told me, trying to cheer me up. It did make me laugh a little.

"I'm glad too, I actually really like this one. Can you find out what I'm supposed to wear tomorrow? I can't imagine that I'm supposed to go formal for a trial."

"No problem. Did you want me to stay with you for a while?" he asked.

"You don't mind?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. Silly girl." he said. "Now go change, and if you don't mind, I'm going to do the same, and I will be right back."

Richard left to go get out of his tux, and I changed into my pajamas. There was a knock at the door. It was Eric. I thought about not answering, but decided against it.

"I don't like seeing you with Richard." he said as I opened the door.

"Well hello to you too." I said sarcastically.

"You smell like him. Did you lie to me? Are you seeing him?"

"It shouldn't matter to you what or who I smell like. It's weird that you're smelling me anyway. And no, I didn't lie. I'm not seeing him. He's just a friend. A good friend. But not like that." I said, confused as to why I was even playing into this. "Did you need something, or did you just come over here to tell me your dislikes and what I smell like?"

He didn't answer me, he just walked away. I watched him go down the hall to his room, and disappear inside.

* * *

"You both have the worst communication skills when it comes to each other that I have ever seen. I don't see how you lasted as long as you did." Richard said after he had gotten back. He was wearing sweats and a t-shirt. I had told him about Eric's little visit. We were sitting on the couch facing each other. The television was on, but it was on mute, and I had no clue what was on.

I punched Richard in the arm for his comment. "Well, it's complicated." I said. I knew he was right. It was partially my fault. Eric had said we needed to have a serious talk, several times, and I kept putting it off. But he never really pressed the issue either. We both just kind of let the talk go. Sure, things were happening around us that delayed when we would say we would have it, and we would get caught up in those issues, but once they were done, we would never reschedule, or just talk like we needed to.

"That's still no excuse. But it doesn't matter really now does it. You two aren't together anymore." Richard said, and shrugged his shoulders.

But it did still matter, together or not. I looked at the clock. It was only two in the morning. "Richard, I have something I have to do. Will you call me tomorrow?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Sure. But you call me tonight if you need me. Do you know what you're going to say?" he asked as he rose from the couch.

"Nope, but I'm sure it will come to me." I said, and went to the bathroom to fix myself before I went to see Eric.

* * *

I knocked on his door, an he answered right away.

"Can I come in?" I asked, looking at the ground, and at my feet. I was suddenly very nervous. Eric stepped back to let me pass. His room looked just like mine. I went to the couch, and had a seat, and patted the one next to me.

Eric came over and had a seat, but didn't say anything. He was just staring at me quizzically.

"Eric, I have some stuff that I want to say, and I don't want you to talk until I'm done. Not a peep. Then, you can have your turn. Understand?"

Eric nodded, and a small smile broke on his mouth.

"When you stayed with me, when you had amnesia, you really remember everything right?" I asked. He shook his head that he did. "Good. I loved you then. I told you that I had feelings for you, but I was to scared to say I was in love with you then. When you got your memory back, but didn't remember our time together, I didn't know how you would react to what happened. I didn't want to be rejected again like I had been with Bill. I figured the best way to deal with it was pretend it just didn't happen, because for you, it didn't since you didn't remember it anymore."

Eric's eyes had grown wide. He had looked away from me, and was now staring at the wall, but I could tell he was paying attention.

"After you made me tell you what happened while you stayed with me, you did exactly what I thought you would. You rejected me, or at least that's what it felt like. You didn't come see me really, you didn't call me, nothing. Then the next thing I know, we're in Rhodes, and I'm being forced to bond with you." Eric started to say something then, but I held my hand up, and he stopped. "Yes, between you and Andre, you were the better choice, but I would have preferred to not do it at all. Not like that. And after we did bond, you should have tried to explain it to me. Yes, I probably would have fought you at first, but I would have listened eventually, since it was affecting my life."

I paused to breathe for a moment. This next part was going to be tough. Eric knew I wasn't finished, so he stayed silent, still looking at the wall.

"Then the hotel blew up. And the first person I went to was you. Because I loved you, and of everyone there, you were the most important person to me, and I only cared that you lived. And then after we got home, you introduced me to Niall, and got mad at me when you took me home, and blew up at me about my driveway of all things. Then the takeover happened, at my house, and of all the times for your memory to come back, it happened then. We should have talked about it then, even if it wasn't the right time, we should have done it anyway."

I needed a tissue, because I had started crying talking about the bombing. I looked around, and Eric noticed I had stopped and looked over at me. He saw I was crying, and tried to reach for me to pull me to him, but I stopped him, and he went back to staring at the floor now.

"And then you tricked me into marrying you. I know, it was for my own safety, and yes, I probably would have put up a fight if you had told me in advance, but you still tricked me. And then after Appius died, you didn't talk to me for two weeks. I had a lot of time to think then. A lot. And to top it off, because you weren't calling me, or anything, I spent that time getting angrier and angrier with you. And since I didn't know any better about the blood bond, or being bonded to you as your wife, I didn't know what was going to happen when I broke it. Am I sorry I broke it? No. Am I sorry about the outcome from breaking it. Yes, I am, every single day. All's I knew was that I needed to make sure that I did still love you, and I felt like that was being clouded from the bond. Even if you had called me back, I still wanted to end the bond."

I paused, and was looking for some kind of a reaction from Eric. He was still a blank canvas.

"But after I did, and you came to me at my house, and even after we had to hide out, you rejected me again. You can be big bad 'Mr. Tuff Guy' in front of all the other vamps if you need to, I don't really care, but with me, you can be yourself. I see that now, you know. The Eric who had amnesia, that was you, the real you, the one who doesn't have any sheriff duties, or a business to run, it's just you. I still see him you know. Not as much as I would like, but he's still there. If you were open with me at least like that, we probably wouldn't have these issues. Because if you remember, I didn't fight with that Eric, we didn't argue. We talked. We were open with each other, because you were open with me, and made me comfortable to be open with you."

"Are you finished?" he asked, and I shook my head no. I was calming myself down again, because I had gotten all worked up.

"Now this next part, I need you to promise me you aren't going to tell anyone. You have to promise me before I say anything else."

Eric looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "I promise." he said, but it came out sounding like a question, but I continued anyways.

"When we got back from Vegas, and you took me home, and you started the argument with me. I knew you were lying to me. I knew you were just saying those things to get me out of your life, for my safety. I know you didn't mean anything you said."

"How?" he asked, still looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

I took a deep breath. "I heard your thoughts… and it wasn't the first time that's happened either, but it was defiantly the clearest it's ever been. The first few times it's happened, it's just been a quick snap, no words really like with a regular person, just images, dark. It's weird. I'm sure you know why I've never said anything, and why I don't want you to say anything about this. But anyway, I heard what you were thinking, I heard what you were trying to do. It was quick, but the clearest that I've ever heard, and I figured it out pretty quick. And I loved you, and I knew you loved me, and looking back at it now, I'm glad you did it because it kept us both safe. What I don't understand is why didn't you come to me when the trouble had passed? Better yet, why didn't I go to you? Probably because you hadn't come to me, and I was worried you had moved on. Because in the end, with all of this, I'm still worried someday when I start to get old, or well, anytime really I guess it could happen, you will get tired of me, and leave me."

Eric didn't say anything, but he looked up at me and I could tell he was wondering if I was done yet or not.

"That's it." I said.

"I don't know what to say to any of this." he said finally. I shook my head in acknowledgement.

"I can leave if you want; if you need to think about it more. And I will wait if you need me to. I just hope that now that I have finally had half of the talk we should have had years ago, you do the same at some point. If for nothing else, to at least finally have it, even if it doesn't change things."

"Do you want it to change things?" he asked, and looked over at me.

I looked him in the eye. "Yes. And unless you are going to talk, we should stop with the questions, because it's not getting us anywhere really, except for back into old habits. I've said what I have to say, and you're welcome to do the same, so we are on the same page, and then ask all the questions you want." and with that, I got up off the couch, and headed to the door. I stopped before I left, and looked back at Eric. He was still sitting on the couch, looking at me, but not stopping me, so I left and went back to my room.

* * *

I didn't have to wait long before Eric came a knocking. I figured he would. I said to much for him to just let it go for the night, or the rest of my life, or his. I opened the door, and let him in. He walked right past me and into the living room, and was pacing back and forth. I had a seat on the couch.

He didn't say anything and was still pacing after a few minutes, and it was driving me bonkers, but I didn't say anything. I was going to give him the same chance he gave me.

He finally stopped and went over to the window and stared out at the strip before he started to talk.

"I knew I liked you the first time I saw you in my bar. It was more than lust, although I felt that too. But there was something different about you. I knew that I had feelings for you when we found out you were missing in Dallas. I wanted nothing more than to go searching for you, but I was confused about how I was feeling then as well. Looking back at it now, I knew I loved you when I saw you dance in Club Dead. I didn't know how to act about it for two reasons. First, I've never been in love like this. I love Pam because she is my child, and I cared for my wife when I was human, but I don't love them like I love you. Second, it's dangerous for you and for me. Very dangerous. You've seen how ruthless vampires can be, and you haven't even seen the half of it."

Eric stopped there, and seemed to be thinking about what to say next. He didn't look at me, he just continued to stare out the window.

"I imagine things would have gone much different for us if the witch hadn't cursed me. I would have liked for you to be more open and honest with me about what happened while I was cursed and staying with you. I knew there was more than what you were telling me, but I could never have imagined it's true depth. After you told me the partial truth of that time, I became worried. I worried for your safety and for mine if this information was ever to get in the wrong hands. I tried to avoid seeing you, but I couldn't stay away for long. I was still confused about how I felt for you. I had not realized it was love yet."

Eric finally left the window and came to sit with me on the couch.

"In Rhodes, I hated forcing you to bond with me. It wasn't right, but we had no choice. When you became my wife, I will admit that I was pleased to be able to claim you as mine. But again, I would have preferred that it was not in my office, and not because of a necessity to keep you safe; but because you wanted to. When you broke our bond Sookie, I… I still can not describe what that did to me. It showed me how little faith you had in me. I felt like a fool for loving you. I decided then that I needed to get you out of my life. I would have been successful if you weren't so stubborn." he said, and then smiled for a moment. It made me smile too.

"When Clark stabbed you, there was a time when I didn't think you would make it. I decided then that I needed to cut myself from your life. You were in to much danger. I would rather have you alive and hating me, than have you dead. When we fought at your home, I'm glad you chose that moment to set aside your stubbornness. After that, once the power struggle was over, I thought about going back to you. But I knew that something would come up again. Maybe not in a week or a month, but sometime. We would be in danger, and then we might not be able to separate like we had. Leaving you then was hard enough, and I'm not sure I would have made the right decision had we been bonded. So for that sole reason, I was happy it was broken."

Eric pulled me to him, and I rested against his silent chest.

"I still love you, my Sookie. I think I will always love you. You make me angrier than any human ever could and still live to tell about it. You make me happier than I have been in centuries. I worry each day that you will leave me in search of a normal life, where you can have a husband you can marry legally in all fifty states, and who you can have children with."

He kissed the top of my head before he finished.

"I would tell you the details about a blood bond, and how it works, or pledging to each other, but we are neither of those things anymore, and until you are ready and I am ready for those things again, we will hold off on that discussion, as it's not necessary at this time."

He placed his hand under my chin to lift my face to his.

"As for you being able to hear my thoughts, I'm going to forget that you said that. That part of the conversation never happened. It's to dangerous for that to ever be spoken aloud again. Don't tell me if it happens again. Don't ever tell anyone. Understand?"

"Yes." I said.

"Does this change things?" he asked.

"Do you want it to?" I asked, repeating what he had said to me earlier.

"As long as it is in my favor, yes." he said, and winked at me.

I pretended to be thinking deeply about his statement, and I was dramatic about it. I put a finger to my lips and stared up at the ceiling. "Hmmm." I said, and tapped my finger against my lips. Eric squeezed me, and I broke and smiled at him. "Yes, I think it would be in your favor. But first, is there anything else that you want to say? Anything at all? Any questions?"

"No." he said. "You?"

"Nope. I heard you loud and clear."

"And I the same."

"Good. So, what now?" I asked.

"I think that until the Summit is over, it would be safest for us both of us to remain separate. Once the trial is over tomorrow, and once the Summit is over, and we can see that it ends in Felipe's favor, then I would like to have you as mine." he said, and he must have been able to tell I was about to say something about the "mine" comment, because he spoke again. "When I call you 'mine' Sookie, I know you still belong to yourself, but you are mine as well. Just as I am yours, if that is what you wish. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I will do everything I can to run things by you before I make decisions for you in the future as well. You must understand that anything that was done without your consent was in your best interest."

"Yes, I know they were. I know you were just trying to keep me safe. It's just the idea of having my choice taken from me that I don't like. But I promise you that going forward, if you have to do something to save my skin and yours, I won't be upset if you have no choice. I may not be happy about it at first, but I don't think I can help that. But I will accept it eventually. I have before, and I will in the future. But you have to promise to explain it. And not explain it three years down the road, you explain it right away."

"I will. There is something else thought. You realize that there will still be danger. There is always conflict between states and kingdoms. As a sheriff, that danger is around me when it's concering my state. If we move forward from here, you will be in danger as well. I will do everything I can to keep you safe, but I want to make sure you are clear that it will be there."

"I understand. And we'll get through it." I said.

I laid my head back down on his chest, and we just sat there for a while. It was nice to be back in his arms like this. The night before was nice too, but now it was different. I looked at the clock in the kitchen. It was almost three in the morning. The sun would be rising in about three hours or so. I sat up, and Eric seemed sad to let me go so that I could.

"Eric?"

"Yes?"

"So, are we just going to lay here all night? There isn't anything else you would rather be doing?" I said, and fought a smile.


	47. Chapter 51

**LEMONS!... and more talking.  
**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. Except for Richard, and I like him, so quit baggin on him. He's the straight version of my bestie. LOL**

**Gotta leave the updates for now down to once a night. Ya'll are catching up to quick. Well, I'm catching you up to quick. I'm spending the rest of my evening writing so I can stay a few chapters ahead.  
**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies.  
**

* * *

Eric's face went from what I would describe as casual or content, to feisty. Eyebrow went up, fangs came out, and smirk was firmly planted on his lips. He was like a lion, as he once described, and I was his prey. I was debating on running, or just letting him pounce. I decided to run. I didn't make it three feet before he caught me. He turned me to face him, and kissed me. Now that it wasn't unwelcome, it was glorious. I had once been told I was ruined for regular men, and it was true. But not just for a regular man, I was ruined for any regular man, Shifter, Were, Fairy, Goblin, Vampire, or anything else out there. None would ever compare to Eric.

I started to back up towards the bedroom, and Eric followed, still keeping me close to him, never breaking our kiss. Although he had pounced, the kiss had started gentle. The closer we moved to the bedroom, the more it sped up and became more urgent. The backs of me knees found the bed, and I let myself fall back to it. Eric followed, and put an arm out to catch us so that his whole weight didn't fall on top of me. He lifted me and scooted us back so that we were further up on the bed and more comfortable. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed my body to his, trying to join them. This made Eric growl deep in his chest and break our kiss. I whimpered when he did at the loss of connection to him. This of course made him smile and he slid off me, and off the bed.

I lifted myself onto my elbows so that I could see him. He was undressing. He discarded his shoes and shirt, and then once he noticed I was practically drooling he took his time with his jeans. He undid his belt, then the button, then the zipper, but stopped. He wagged his eyebrows at me, then continued when he saw me pout. He was glorious naked. If I hadn't been so desperate to get him back in bed with me, I would have been happy to let him just stand there on display.

"You are over dressed for this situation my Sookie." he said, and before I could register his words, he grabbed the ends of my sweats and pulled, and off they came. It was so quick and smooth it reminded me of when a magician yanks a table cloth, and leaves the other items on the table undisturbed. It made me laugh, and Eric started to climb back into bed. As he did, he put his hands on my legs, and slid them up to my waist to the hem of my t-shirt and then continued with the hem in hand, and lifted it off me as he continued to slide his hands up my body.

Once my shirt was discarded, he came back to me face to face, and stared at me. After a moment, I started to blush. "What?" I asked.

"You will be the death of me Sookie Stackhouse." he said, and I laughed.

"Right back atcha Eric Northman."

He smiled at me, and then moved his head back to my body. He started kissing the right side of my neck and worked his way down to my collar and across to my shoulder. From there, he headed down, kissing my side, and then once he was at my waist he worked his way to my stomach, and then back up to my neck, hitting all the same spots, but on the other side of my body. When he got back to my neck, he continued up to my jaw, and then to my lips. As his lips touched mine, I felt his hand touch my waist, and start to slide its way down to my thigh, and then across to my inner thigh, and then he started to work his way up until he was at my folds. He moved his finger in and felt my wetness, and growled into my mouth and pressed his body and length against me.

My hands in the mean time had wrapped themselves around his neck, and worked their way down his back, and then to his biceps. When he teased my nub lightly with his fingers, my whole body tensed, and my hips thrust towards him. I almost climaxed from it I was so eager for him. He slid a finger into me once I started to gain some control, and latched himself onto my breasts. While his one hand was busy below my waist, the other was busy above. He had my right breast in his mouth, and was sucking, biting and licking my nipple. And on my left, he was pinching and teasing my nipple with his fingers. He stayed there for a bit, and because of his mouth on my breasts, his finger inside me, and his thumb doing circles on my center, I was starting to feel that warm fuzzy feeling. Eric moved himself from my breasts and started to kiss his way back down my body until his mouth was hovering over me down there.

"Watch me." he said, and I complied. He inserted another finger, and I gasped. He was moving them in and out, and picking up the pace. He was placing soft kisses on my thighs, my stomach, everywhere but where I wanted him to kiss me most. I arched my back and I'm sure I screamed with what breath I had. I think I may have even lost consciousness for a minute. I felt wave after wave of pleasure flow through me. This was now the most intense thing that I had ever felt. Eric removed his finger, and made his way back up to be face to face with me. He positioned himself between my legs and I grabbed his shoulders, still riding the last waves.

He smiled at me and put a hand on my cheek, and then got a serious look on his face and said "Lover." as he pushed into me. He kept his movements slow at first. I was gasping each time he thrust into me, gripping his back tighter and tighter. My legs were wrapped around him, and I was pulling them tighter as well in an effort to get as close to him as possible. It didn't take long before I was seeing stars again.

Eric started to pick up the pace after that, and I could tell he was getting close. I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck.

"Eric… do it." I said, and he thrust into me a few final times before he bit, and then was seeing his own stars. The sensation of his final thrusts, and then his pull on my neck was enough to send me over the edge for a third time.

Eric collapsed on top of me, and I kept my legs and arms wrapped around him until he moved off me. He lifted me, and positioned us both properly in bed. He laid on his side, and held his arms open so that I could cuddle up to him in my spot. I was facing him, and buried my face into his chest. He put his arm and leg over me, enveloping me like he used to.

"Will you take my blood?" he asked once we were settled.

"Will it count as a third time for me? Won't that create the bond?" I asked, looking up at him, still in our embrace.

"Since the bond was broken, you have had my blood more than three times Lover. But I have not had yours more than twice now. And that's including tonight." he said, looking back down at me.

"How have I had your blood more than three times?" I was truly puzzled.

"When you had been stabbed. I fed you my blood to try to keep you alive, and a few times in the hospital to help when you were not doing so well. I would not have done it if I didn't think it was necessary."

I thought on that for a moment. Thought of the "what-if" if he hadn't given me his blood. I was glad that I was alive. "I know you wouldn't. So now what then? I can drink from you, but if you drink from me again we are bonded?"

"Yes. So I won't, until I know you are ready, and it's what you want. But you can drink from me. I want you to. I want to make sure you are ready for the trial, and have my blood in you, in case something goes wrong." He paused for a moment and hugged me tighter to him. "I want to be there tomorrow. I will speak with Felipe about it tomorrow when I rise."

"I'm worried about the trial." I said, and put my face back to his chest.

"Victor will be heavily restrained. If they even have him in there at all. It may just be to decide his final fate." he said, and kissed my forehead.

We stayed silent for a while. Just cuddling. If I didn't know better, sometimes I would swear that this was his favorite thing to do.

"Eric, if we are back together, but you aren't drinking from me, what will you do?" I asked, and braced myself for the answer.

"I can live mostly on True Blood if I have to. But I will need real blood from time to time. There is not a way around that. I will avoid it if I can, because I can tell already that it's bothering you." He looked back down at me. Damn me letting him have my blood. He could feel the distain in me starting to rise from the thought of him drinking from someone else. A pretty girl, someone prettier than me. Who was looking for more than just to be bitten by him. I knew he wouldn't cheat on me, but I still didn't like the idea. "I won't have sex when I feed. I won't do it in front of you, or anywhere near you if that is what you want."

"I fell like I'm being pressured into bonding with you just to keep you from feeding on someone else. Sex or no sex. I didn't like it when Bill did it, and I don't like the thought of you doing it either."

"I thought Bill drank exclusively from you, did he not? You and that bottled shit?" he asked, and leaned back to get a better look at me.

"Not always. Sometimes he would go out to feed. He always let me know when he was though. And when we were in Dallas, he ordered room service, and had me wait in the other room. I didn't like it then, and like I said, I don't like the thought of it now. If you have to, just don't tell me alright?" I said, trying to stay calm. Eric on the other hand had gone from sedated to furious.

Eric looked like he was going to start yelling a few times, but stopped. He finally opened his mouth to speak again, and this time, words came out, and they were calm. "I don't want you to feel forced again. That is the last thing that I want Lover. I don't like the idea of forcing you into things. I don't like forcing you to do anything you don't want to do. As I said, I will drink bottled as much as I can. When I do have to have the real thing, I can promise you that you will know, and I will leave the decision of how it happens to you."

"Like, when and where and who?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm willing to do that. But I will need you to compromise with me on this. Can you do that?"

I shook my head that I could.

"You will tell me if it makes you to uncomfortable. You will be open with me on your feelings about it? It may sound like a good deal to you now, but when the time comes, if you are not happy with the situation, you will tell me and we can figure a compromise?"

"Yes."

"Good." he said, and hugged me back to him.

"I know we still have a lot to work on, but I think this is a good start." I said.

"I agree. You will be open with me? Tell me truly if something is bothering you? I can't fix what I don't know is broken." he said. He sounded very human then.

"I will. And you will do the same?" I asked, and looked up at him.

"I will."

We just laid like that for a while. He was stroking and running his finger in circled on my back. I could feel him start to become sluggish after a bit, and I leaned up to look at the clock.

"It's going to be dawn soon. My room isn't light proof." I said, and looked down at him. His eyelids were becoming heavy as he looked at me.

"Spend the day with me." he asked, and I kissed him.

He put his clothes back on, and I put my pajamas back on. I took my cell and room key, and we went down the hall to his room.

I crawled into bed with him, and I could tell that he was fighting to stay awake as long as he could.

"You will stay until I wake up?" he asked, eyes now closed. I could see he was fighting to open them, but it was no use.

"Yes." I said, and kissed him as he died for the day.

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**Okay, this is going to sound terrible, but I can't remember how many times I've had Eric drink from Sookie in my story. I only remember writing it once... and I scanned through it again, and didn't see another time, but if I missed it, please tell me so I can fix it. **

**(hits self on forehead with palm)**

**Anywho, hope ya'll liked this little bit o' lovin.**

**More tomorrow!**

**Good night!  
**


	48. Chapter 52

**BAH! LOL I can't even stick by what I just said for more than five minutes.**

**But this time I SWEAR, this is it for the night! hahahaha!**

**Again, I think "Devour" by Marilyn Manson had a lot of influence in this chapter. But not for the same reasons it did the last time I said that. So don't freak out on me!**

**L-E-M-O-N-S**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies for reals this time.  
**

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I woke up that afternoon snuggled against Eric. I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before I got out of bed to use the bathroom. I checked the clock when I got back out and realized that I had about an hour before he got up for the night.

I went back to my room to check my messages. I checked out the peephole in the door and then cautiously opened the door. I didn't want anyone to see me. I realized that there wouldn't be any vampires up, but I didn't want any humans that might work for the sleeping vamps to see me either. I peeked out the door, saw that the coast was clear, and then booked it to my room.

There was a message from Richard on my phone. The trial started at eleven, and Felipe wanted me to meet him in the lounge area at the Summit no later than ten thirty. Attire was business.

I checked my closet, and got out the clothes that I would need. I had a suit, which consisted of a black woman's cut blazer and a pencil skirt that went just below my knee. I had a couple different options for button up shirt to go underneath, but decided on black. I looked like I was going to a funeral, which I figured was appropriate, considering where I was going tonight and why.

I laid out the clothes, fixed myself up a little in the bathroom, and then headed back to Eric's room. I got back in bed with him, and snuggled back up to him, and fell back asleep. But not for long.

I woke up with Eric on top of me. He was placing almost all his weight on me. I giggled.

"What are you doing?" I asked, because he was laying on me, but not doing a darn thing, and I knew that he could tell that I was awake.

"I was worried that I was dreaming, waking with you here in bed with me."

I giggled again, and wrapped my arms around him. "I know the feeling." I said, and kissed him on the lips. "Oh!" I said as I felt his hardness press against me through the sheets.

"Oh indeed Lover." he said, and we both laughed. Then he started to kiss my neck, and was slowly working his way down to my breasts.

"I have to be at the Summit to meet Felipe at ten thirty. You have four hours before I have to start to get ready." I said.

"That is more then enough time." he said, and latched on to my right breast. He licked and lapped and sucked and nibbled, but was careful not to break my skin.

"Oh Eric!" I said as he moved a hand lower, and slid a finger into me, and then shortly after, he added another. He was moving slowly, but it was getting me close to the edge very quickly.

Eric started to move his mouth from my breasts back up to my collar, and then my neck. He put his mouth by my ear, and whispered a few dirty words and endearments that my Gran would kill me if I ever repeated. But wow, was that hot and new from him. I was getting closer and closer to the edge, and I started to move my hips in rhythm with Eric's fingers, still probing me.

"Lover, come for me." he finally whispered in my ear, and I complied. Who was I to deny Eric Northman what he wanted?

Once I regained my senses, I grabbed Eric by his biceps and pulled to signal him to come closer to me.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Eric, you know what I want." I panted, trying to wiggle my way into position under him, since he wasn't coming to me. I was going to him.

"I want you to tell me Sookie." he said, and finally complied with positioning himself above me. He was hovering just high enough that I couldn't get what I wanted.

"Eric, please." I begged, and reached between us, and grabbed his length. I could see him tense then at my touch, but he still held back.

"Tell me Lover." he said, and giggled a little at my efforts to get him to comply without saying it. "Tell me what you want."

"Eric, I want you to make love to me." I said, and that froze him in his tracks. It wasn't the answer he was expecting, but it got the results that I wanted.

He finally entered me, and I arched my back and gasped. He slid into me slowly, but all the way in. The more he slid in, the higher my back arched. Eric was holding himself up with his left arm, but slid his right arm under my back to hold me in position. My legs had been wrapped around his back, and as he lifted me higher, we went into a somewhat sitting position. Eric was on his knees, and my legs and arms were wrapped around him. He was holding me now close to his body, and I was practically impaled on him in this position.

I kept my arms wrapped around his neck, and Eric moved his hands down to my lower back. He rocked us slowly, and I moved my hips to keep in time with his. We pressed our foreheads together, and gazed into each others eyes as we moved.

It was the best sex I had ever had. I arched my back, and Eric lowered his mouth back to my breasts. I was getting close to another orgasm, and Eric felt it coming, and lowered a hand between us, and made small circled on my nub. I came undone a moment later. I tightened my grip around his neck and shook as I finished. I was gasping for air and Eric had to tell me to breathe.

When I was done, and had regained my muscles enough to hold myself against him again, Eric lowered us back down on the bed. He was still on top of me, but now, was looking for his own release. He started to move in earnest, and that's when I attacked.

I pulled Eric down to kiss me, but instead I tilted my head to the side so that I had a clean shot at his neck, and I bit as hard as I could, and drew his blood in long, hard pulls.

When I bit, Eric roared, and thrust hard one last time before he had his moment. I sucked in rhythm to his spasms, until the wound on his neck closed, and then I licked the spot where I had bit.

He collapsed on top of me, and lazily placed kisses on my neck.

"Are you alright?" I asked, with a wicked grin on my face. I hardly ever to go one-up Eric, and this was a pretty good one.

I could feel him smile into my neck, and then he raised his head to hover over mine. "I love you." he said, and kissed me on the lips.

"I love you." I said, with a grin on my face. Eric kissed me one last time, and then rolled off me, and onto his side. I turned on my side to face him.

"You know, it took every ounce of strength I had not to bite you back." he said, and smiled.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Don't be sorry Lover. I should be the one apologizing. I have never faltered in bed the way that I did then."

"Falter? You didn't falter at all. That was the most amazing sex I've ever had."

Eric laughed at me, and then got serious. "I was serious, earlier. When I said that I didn't want to force you into bonding with me. Normally, a bonding would be permanent. Like a marriage should be. It's not something that I want to take lightly with you again. I don't want it to happen because either of us is forced."

I shook my head that I understood. "When we get back home, I want to bond with you Eric." I said, and he seemed speechless. "Do you want to? I mean, bond with me too?"

"Yes." he said finally.

"I don't want to bond here. It would be to cheesy. If this is like a marriage, I want to do it back home, in Bon Temps. Here would feel like we eloped in Vegas." I said, and he giggled a little.

"I still have the knife." he said after a moment. I wasn't surprised. I shuttered a little thinking about how he got the knife in his possession in the first place. By taking out of my gut.

"Are you thinking a double ceremony?" I asked and smiled at him.

"Perhaps. If we were bonded and pledged again, no one could touch you, and if they did, they would have to answer to me. The same goes for you as well. I would be yours. No one could touch me, and if they did, they would have to answer to you." he said, and then seemed to relish the thought of having someone try something with him, just to see me punish them for it.

I thought on that for a moment. "I think that would be acceptable." I said, and Eric scowled at me.

"Acceptable?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, and rolled my eyes, and then smiled at him. He smiled then too.

"Then it is settled. When we get home, you will be mine."

"And you will be mine." I said.

"We should never have parted." he said.

"There's a lot of things we should have never done. Do you think this is to fast? I mean, going home and bonding, pledging." I said and looked him in the eyes. "I mean, three years apart, and just over a day back together… I don't know. I just want to make sure."

"I never stopped loving you. But if you are having second thoughts, I can wait." he said, but seemed a little hurt, which I didn't intend to do.

"I'm not having second thoughts. I want to. I just… I don't know. Forget I said anything."

"Tell me."

"I just want to make sure that we are still on the same page. I don't want to get married to you, and then find out that this really isn't going to work."

"You don't trust that it will?"

"I hope that it will. I trust that I will do every thing that I can to make sure it does. But are you sure? I did a lot of bad things. I just don't see how you can still love me I guess, and want to get married when we get back."

"I'm not completely blameless in this. We both made mistakes. We have moved past that. I only want to look forward. We have a lifetime. I don't want to waste any more of it."

A tear fell down my cheek. I was sure right then that everything would work out, and he would love me until the day I died. "I love you." I said.

"And I love you."


	49. Chapter 53

**EEEKKK! We're almost to the end. I'm posting everything I have except for the final chapter, which I'm actually working on RIGHT NOW!**

**As soon as it's done, which will be tonight, it will be posted.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.  
**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

I tip toed back to my room to get ready. Eric stayed in his. He had called Felipe a few hours ago and asked to be a part of the trial, but Felipe said that he wasn't needed, but that he could sit in on it if he wished. I had told Eric that it would be best if we didn't arrive together, and that I should go about my normal routine of going with Richard. He didn't like the idea, but agreed that it would be best.

I was dressed and ready to go by nine. Richard called, and came up to meet me. Eric planned to meet us in the lobby, and ride over with us in the limo. We were both quiet and didn't speak to each other the entire trip. We did glance at each other every now and then, and I fought a smile. Of course Richard noticed that things were different, and once we arrived at the convention center, and were out of the limo, he called me on it.

"What's going on?" he asked as he pulled me off to the side to let others pass to enter the building.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to look puzzled. He didn't buy it.

He tapped his head, and I knew what he meant me to do. _"You had sex didn't you!" _he thought to me.

"Richard, nothing happened. Can we just go inside now?" I asked, and motioned for the door.

"_You totally did. I can see it. I was wrong the other night when I said you two being civil was awkward. This is officially the most awkward you have been around him." _he thought.

I shook my head no.

"_Oh yes it is. And if you're trying to _keep_ it a secret, you better avoid him like the plague, because if I can tell, so can everyone else." _he thought. He looked serious.

"No, I think you can tell because I spend so much time with you. And I would appreciate it if we didn't talk about this anymore. Now, join me inside?" I said, and Richard smiled at my statement. I figured the only way to shut him up was to let him know he was right. That way, he wouldn't draw any more attention to us.

"_I won't say anything. Don't worry. But you have some explaining to do later missy._" he thought, and laughed out loud.

Once we were inside, Richard checked his watch, and said that it was ten-fifteen. I said goodbye to him, and headed towards the lounge. I found Felipe and Eric sitting at a table towards the back.

"Mees. Stackhoue, good to see you." he said, and rose to greet me.

Eric did the same, and I bowed to both of them, then took a seat. I was nervous now. I couldn't help it. I wanted to order a drink to take the edge off, but I didn't. I didn't think it would be appropriate.

"Will Victor be there?" I asked.

"He is here, yes, but he will not be in the room." Eric answered. Felipe nodded in agreement.

"I won't have to see him?" I asked.

"No Mees. Stackhouse. After all the testimony is heard, he will be brought in for sentencing, but you won't have to stay for that if you don't want to." Felipe said, and I smiled at him. He was always so nice to me. I figured he wasn't normally like this with other humans, but I had saved his life, and I had warned him about the takeover attempt from Victor.

I actually found out later that he had a suspicion. He had bugged Victor, but Victor had figured that he would be bugged, and that there would be spies, so he had been very careful in his planning. I had asked Felipe if he had bugged my room the first time I was out here, and he laughed. He had said that a mere human was no concern to him as far as his kingdom went, but that did change after I left.

At ten thirty, we headed over to the room designated for the trial. I sat in front with Felipe and some of the other vampires who were left from the takeover attempt from the ball three years ago. Eric sat a few rows back, but before we had taken our seats, he had put his hands on my shoulder and told me to be brave.

I felt anything but brave. I was in a room full of vampires. Sure, they were all probably on Felipe's side, but still. I wasn't sure how this was going to pan out, and I didn't want to talk in front of all of them about what had happened. I was going to do everything I could not to cry while I did.

There was a small stage in front of us, and it had an oak table that took up nearly the entire stage itself. It had four matching chairs on the other side of it. I asked Felipe who would be sitting there.

"There will be a designated delegate for Southern, Middle, and Northern California, and one from Arizona. They were the states chosen to have someone elected by their King or Queen to represent the state. They will be the ones listening to testimony, and deciding Mr. Madden's fate." he said calmly. He didn't seemed to be phased by this at all. Eric did, but I wondered if it was just for me, or if memories of Victor's reign of terror over Louisiana and then what happened at the ball were affecting him too.

It wasn't long before the room was full of vampires from all the other states. I recognized a lot of them from the previous night. As soon as everyone seemed to be present and settled, a vampire, male, came out from the side of the room, and made his way on stage. He announced each of the representatives from the states that Felipe had mentioned, and as he announced them, they came from the same side door he had, and made their way to a seat on stage.

"Lets begin please." the representative from Northern California said. California was sitting in order from left to right. With Southern being all the way to my left, and Arizona on my right. "Your Majesty, Felipe De Castro, my we begin with you?" Northern California asked. Felipe nodded, and as he rose, so did everyone else in the room, along with myself. Felipe took an empty seat that was sideways to the stage just below the end of the left side of the stage. There was a small table in front of it. I noticed there was no microphone, but I figured that since it was all vamps here, everyone could hear him without it. I was close enough that I could hear him as well.

They asked him questions about when he first took over Louisiana, and about leaving Victor in charge. They asked if Victor had ever given him reason to suspect his behavior, and what kind of a Lieutenant Victor had been. They also asked about the ball, and about his conversation with me before hand. They also asked about leaving Victor alive after the ball, and what, if anything, Victor had said to him post ball brawl.

As soon as they finished, Felipe took his seat back next to me, and then one by one, they called other survivors from the ball who worked for Felipe up to question as well. They all had a similar line of questioning. Had Victor ever done anything to raise suspicion with them, what happened specifically with them at the ball, etc. Then once the last vampire had gone, it was my turn.

I took my seat and looked at Felipe first, and then to Eric. He had a serious look on his face. I'm sure he wasn't trying to make me more nervous than I was, but it wasn't helping.

"Please state your name and relation to this matter." Arizona asked.

"Sookie Stackhouse. I'm a subject and employed by His Majesty Felipe De Castro."

"Miss Stackhouse, we understand you are the one who found out about Mr. Madden's plan to take over. Can you please describe to us how that happened?" Southern California asked.

"I heard Mr. Madden's day man, Brian, thinking about it." I replied. Felipe had instructed me to only answer the question that I was asked, and not to go into detail unless asked.

"And what did you do with this information once you had it?" Southern California asked.

"I investigated it to confirm that I was correct in what I had heard."

"And when did you go to your king?" Arizona asked.

"When I knew for sure what Mr. Madden was planning."

"Were you suspicious of Mr. Madden before coming here to Nevada?" Mid California asked.

"Yes." I said, and looked at Felipe. He nodded at me. He didn't look upset. It wasn't new information to him, and from what he had told me a few nights before, it wasn't new information to them either.

"Why did you not go to your king with these suspicions before?"

"Because they were only suspicions, with no proof or backup." I said, and tried not to look at Eric.

"What did you do once your suspicions were confirmed?" Arizona asked.

"I went to my king."

"And what did you tell him?" Northern California asked.

"I told him what I knew for certain and what had previously been suspected."

"You understand that this could be considered treason Miss Stackhouse?" Arizona said.

What? I looked over to Felipe, who shook his head no at me. It didn't help thought, I was still scared as hell right then. I didn't even want to know what Eric looked like, but I was sure it wasn't good. I wanted to speak up, but I decided better of it. Thankfully, Southern California changed the subject.

"We understand that you were injured during the fighting at the ball." Southern California said. "How did this come to be?"

"I was stabbed by Clark Warner. He was a human assistant to myself, provided by my king. He was working with Victor. None of us knew." I said, and tears welled up in my eyes. That night ran through my head. And then another, the night that Eric left me. I felt a single tear spill over.

"What became of Mr. Warner?" Arizona asked.

"He was killed after he stabbed me, by a subject of Nevada."

After that, the four representatives passed a few notes, and then excused me from my seat. That wasn't so hard. I took my seat next to Felipe.

"You did well my dear." he whispered into my ear, and then handed me a handkerchief. I smiled at him, and dabbed my eyes.

"I thought it was going to be harder than that." I said.

"As did I." he said, and looked a little troubled.

We sat there for a few minutes, and then they announced that they would be bringing Victor out for sentencing. Felipe let me excuse myself, and I left the room, and went back to the lounge to find Richard.

"How did it go?" he asked when I found him.

"Good I guess. They are sentencing him now." I said, and lowered my head.

"Didn't want to stick around for it?"

"Nope."

"Can we talk about last night?" he asked, and had a little giddiness to his voice.

"Nope." I said, and smiled at him.

A waitress came over and I ordered a gin and tonic. Richard got a Jack and Coke.

"What you gonna do after this?" he asked after the waitress dropped off our drinks.

"As long as Felipe doesn't need me for anything, I'm going back to the hotel and sleeping."

"Sure." he said, and nudged my foot with his. It made me smile again.

We didn't really talk after that. I wasn't in a talking mood. It was nice to have Richard there. He was good at just sitting with me, and not having to talk either. We were there probably thirty minutes when I started to get a little worried. But that subsided when I saw Eric come into the lounge. It picked back up again when I saw the look on his face.


	50. Chapter 54

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

"We need to leave." he said, and took my arm. I rose from my seat, and Richard did the same.

"What? Why? Where's Felipe?" I asked as Eric started to walk us out of the lounge.

"Felipe knows you're with me right now. He ordered me to get you back to the hotel."

"Eric stop. What's wrong?" I asked, but deep down, I had a feeling I knew.

"Victor was sentenced to time served. I will explain it later. But for right now, he's free. I need to get you somewhere safe." he said.

Richard was still following us. I turned to him, and he looked about as worried as Eric did. We got out to the front, and Felipe was already waiting out there with our limo. I was practically shoved in, and then Eric and Felipe followed. They tried to shut Richard out, but I told them I wanted him to come too, so they both reluctantly let him in.

* * *

When we got back to the hotel, I said goodnight to Richard, and Eric and Felipe came to my room. Eric told me to go into the bedroom, and he would be there in a minute to fill me in. They stayed in the living room and talked for a few minutes before I heard Felipe leave, and Eric came into the room.

I was sitting on the bed, and he came and stood in front of me. "What the hell Eric!" I said, and started to cry.

"They let him go. Felipe should have killed him when he had the chance." he said. It was almost as if he was saying it to himself.

"I don't understand why." I said.

"The representatives said that it was Felipe's ignorance that allowed Victor to get as far as he did. And it didn't help that a human woman was the one who discovered the situation in the first place. They said that if Felipe had been a fit ruler instead of a business man, it could have been avoided. Since Felipe kept Victor alive and tortured him, they counted his sentence as time served."

"So now what?" I asked, as it was the only thing I could clearly think of to say. I had a million and one thoughts running through my head, and that was the only one I could think to vocalize.

"Felipe has a plan, but I don't like it. I'm working on something else."

"What's his plan?" I asked.

"Send you back to Bon Temps. Use you as bait. We figure it won't be long before Victor seeks his revenge on you. But I won't let you be used like that. It's to dangerous. We can always leave again. I can give up my position for the time being if I need to."

"I'll do it." I said, not really realizing that I had just said that. Eric looked at me, and his brow furrowed.

"No." he said, and started to pace the room.

"Felipe's right you know. It's only a matter of time. I don't want to be on the run. I don't want you to give up your position or your life that you've built. It could work." I said.

Eric stopped to look at me. "I won't let you. I can't." he said, and walked back to me. "I won't risk losing you now. Not again."

"I'll be fine." I said, and put a hand on Eric's face. He leaned his cheek into it. "I trust that you won't let anything happen to me. I know I will be alright. I just want this to end Eric. And if this gets it done quickly, then we should do it."

"I won't let anything happen to you." he said.

"I know."

* * *

Felipe came to my room the next night. Eric was already there when he arrived.

"Mees. Stackhouse, I trust that Mr. Northman filled you in on what happened last night?"

"Yes. He also told me about the plan to get Victor. I'm on board. Just tell me what you need me to do." I said. Eric still didn't like the idea, but after talking it out most of the night before, he was at least on board to help because of me.

"I'm sending you home immediately. Victor has already left Nevada. We are tracking him, and he is making his way east, but we don't think that he will go to you right away. He's not stupid, and he knows we will be following him. We think that he may meet up with old Were or Shifter contacts to attempt something during the day when we won't be able to have a vampire guarding you. I'm arranging to have a guard for you at all times."

"Thank you." I said, and smiled at Felipe. Eric took my hand and squeezed it. Felipe noticed. He knew Eric and I weren't together anymore after the ball three years ago. He didn't know we were back together now, but I had a feeling he just figured it out. He smiled at me.

"I can guess who will be guarding you during the evening. Mr. Northman, I will allow this, as I trust you will be the best candidate to keep her out of harms way. While you are away from your sheriff duties, is there someone you trust to take your place for that time?"

"My progeny, Pam." he said.

"Then she will be sheriff while you are in charge of guarding Mees. Stackhouse." Felipe looked back to me. "I told you before that you had my protection, and I meant it. I'm glad that I am finally able to make good of that arrangement." he said, and then excused himself and Eric, and I got started packing.

Eric came into my bedroom after a few minutes. I had my suitcase on the bed, and was putting items away in it. He came up behind me and hugged me. I leaned back into him.

"I'm glad Felipe put you in charge of me. You get a vacation with me." I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I would rather it didn't happen this way." he said, and let me go, and sat on the bed next to my suitcase. I continued packing.

"Did he say when we are leaving? I mean, our flight?"

"He chartered a private plane. As soon as we are finished, there is a car waiting to take us to the airport."

"I need to say goodbye to Richard before we leave. I don't want him to worry. Why don't you go pack? I should be ready in another thirty minutes." I said, and leaned over him to kiss him on the forehead. I didn't like seeing Eric so upset like this. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me on top of him as he leaned back on the bed. I giggled. "Shouldn't we be getting ready to leave? Felipe will be suspicious if it takes us to long to get to the airport."

"We can be quick right now." he said, and kissed me.

"Wouldn't you rather get back to Bon Temps before the sun rose? The sooner we leave here, the more time we have there you know. And, there's always the plane." I said when he released my mouth.

Eric smiled, and thought about it for a moment, and then released me. He got up off the bed, smacked my butt, and said, "The plane." before he left.

I finished packing as quickly as I could, and then called Richard. I asked him to come to my room as quickly as he could.

"I'm leaving tonight. I can't explain really other than they let Victor go, and he's probably going to be coming for me. I don't know when I will be back, but I'll call you as soon as I get home, and then call you to keep you updated. I promise." I said as Richard had a seat on my couch.

"Where's Victor now?" he asked, trying to take it all in.

"Headed east, I don't know exactly where."

"I want to come with you." he said, and then seemed to acknowledge that he was putting himself in danger by coming with me.

"I can't let you do that."

"I'm going to talk to Felipe. If I can't go with you tonight, I will get out there. I would rather be out there doing something to help you than sitting here doing nothing. I like you Sookie. You're a good friend." he said, and I could tell he meant every word.

"I won't have it. I like you to, and I don't want you going out there to be in danger for something that you shouldn't be involved in."

"Well, it's not your decision." he said, and then Eric came through the door. "I should go. Now come here and gimmie hug. I will see you soon, alright?" he said, and I stepped forward to give him a goodbye hug. Eric didn't seem to mind it this time.

Richard left the room, and I went to my bedroom to get my bag, and called a bellhop. Eric set his stuff by the door, and then took my stuff to set by his. We sat on the couch while we waited.

"Richards going to ask Felipe to come out to Bon Temps. He wants to help guard me during the day I guess." I said, and laughed to myself.

"He's brave. But he would be no match for a Were or Shifter if Victor sends someone during the day."

"He doesn't care. He just wants to do something. Are you okay with that? If he gets his way with Felipe?" I asked, and looked at Eric.

"Yes. I trust you. Besides, I think he's scared of me, so I'm not worried about him doing anything to you." Eric said, and I laughed.

"He is scared of you. For that exact reason. But it's not like that anyways. Believe me, after what happened with Clark, I made sure. And I check every time I'm out here."

The bellhop came shortly after, and within thirty minutes we were in the air.

"When we pledge, I want to move in with you. I still haven't decided what I want to do about my job, but I'll figure something out." I said after we took off. Eric was sitting next to me, and was holding my hand since he knew I didn't really care for flying. And I knew that I could grip it as tight as I needed to, and it wouldn't hurt him. He looked over at me, and squeezed my hand back.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked.

"Is it what you want?"

"Yes."

"Good. Are you alright if I still work for Sam though? I really like my job, and I don't want to give it up right away. At least not before I give Sam fair warning."

"It's acceptable, but you will probably need to cut down on your hours. Bon Temps and Shreveport aren't exactly that close."

"I know. It's going to be tough, but we'll see I guess."

"You could always work with me at Fangtasia."

"I don't know if I got out of working at Merlottes that I would want to go to another bar. Maybe I could find something else I enjoy doing? Closer to your home?"

"Our home." he said.

* * *

I was sleeping when the plane was coming in to land. Eric woke me up, and held my hand as we landed. We headed straight for Bon Temps from there, and I was starting to feel better once we got to my home.

"Since we aren't pledged yet, but we plan on it, does this mean we're living out of wedlock?" I asked, elbowing Eric as he helped me bring the bags to my room.

"You're living in sin Sookie Stackhouse."

"I think I'm over it." I said, and I started to put clothes away.

"You can do that in the morning Lover." he said, and grabbed me from behind, and pulled me towards the bed.

"I feel bad for the pilot." I said, and blushed a little. Eric lifted me and laid me on the bed, then went around to the other side, and climbed in next to me.

"I'm sure it wasn't the first time that's happened on a plane he's been flying."

"Thanks for initiating me into the mile high club." I said, and giggled. Eric turned to his side, and pulled me to him so that we were facing each other.

"Oh, it was my pleasure." he said, and started to peel away my clothes. He was practically licking his lips.

"Since you're gonna be here for who knows how long, do you want to make a space for yourself?" I asked as he got up and pulled my pants off, and removed his, along with his shirt, so that we were both in our underwear now. He climbed back in bed with me.

"I don't plan on this taking to long. If Victor doesn't come to us soon on his own, we need to lure him here." he said, and started to explore my body with his lips. My bra was in the way when he got to my breasts so he removed it.

"But while you are here, wouldn't you like to sleep somewhere besides where you do now?" I asked. Trying to have a conversation while he was doing what he was doing was becoming harder and harder.

"Perhaps. What did you have in mind?" he asked, raising his head from my right nipple. I gasped a little when he did.

"The upstairs could be converted, couldn't it? Or the room across from this one?"

"Yes. It could. Is that what you want?" he asked, and then went back to my breasts.

"Well, I was thinking nothing that couldn't be undone. I was thinking maybe I could let Jason and his wife live here. They have a baby on the way. He's still living in the home our parents owned. I thought it would be nicer to have his family here, since I would be living with you."

Eric stopped then. He smiled up at me. "I like hearing that. Say it again." he said.

"Living with you? Eric…" I said, and giggled.

"Enough talking." he said, and continued back to his task. He started working his way down the rest of my body, and completely bypassed where I wanted him to plant some kisses the most, and worked his way all the way down to my feet. I laughed when he got to my toes, and jerked my foot a little. "I almost forgot. Ticklish." he said, and planted another kiss, and made me laugh again, and jerk my foot a little.

"Eric stop!" I laughed. It didn't help. Telling him to stop tickling me was like telling a lion to stop eating meat. It just made it worse, and pretty soon, I was giggling and gasping for air. Eric was all over me, finding any spot that kept me laughing.

I rolled right off the bed. Eric tried to grab me, but he had been so busy laughing at me, he hadn't noticed I was getting to close to the edge.

"Ouch!" I laughed as I hit the floor, shoulder first. Eric was beside me in a moment, and picking me back up to the bed. "You're gonna pay for that one." I said, and climbed on top of him when he joined me back on the bed.

I took my turn kissing my way down his body, and when I got to his abs, I stopped there, and felt my breasts rub against him, and his hips thrust a little. I pulled off his boxers, and took off my panties while I was at it. I climbed back on top of him, and took his length in my hand. I started to stroke him slowly. It didn't take much to get him worked up.

"Watch me." I said. He loved it when I did that. I took just the tip of him in my mouth, slowly, and then pulled away. He bucked his hips and hissed through his teeth. I took a little more of him in my mouth, and continued to slowly work him. It was driving him crazy. I kept my eyes on him, and each time he took his off me, I stopped and told him to watch again. He was getting close to the edge, so I stopped. He let out a loud moan, and he was practically shaking. I was very proud of myself.

I climbed back up the length of his body, and positioned my entrance just over him. He moved his hips up to try to enter me, but I just moved up a little higher so that he couldn't reach. "Slowly Lover." I said. "Watch me. Don't move." I reached my hand between us and positioned him at my entrance. I slowly started to lowered myself on to him, and he pushed himself in further. I pulled back off him. "I said don't move." and smiled at him. He practically roared in frustration.

I lowered myself slowly back on to him, and once I had him in completely, I noticed he wasn't looking. I started to raise off again, but he put his eyes back on me.

"Good boy. You're going to want to be watching. No touching." I said, and took my right hand and slid it down my body. I started at my breasts, and then down my stomach, until I got to my spot. Eric's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head then. He reached a hand out, and I stopped again. He got the picture, and put his hand back down, and was gripping the blanket on the bed. He took huge fists full of it, and kept his eyes on me. I worked my hand back down, and started to rub myself as I slowly started to move up and down on him. I kept my eyes on him as long as I could, before my movements got the better of me, and I started to moan. I closed my eyes, and could feel myself reaching the edge. I sped up the pace with my hips and my hand, and pretty soon I was falling. I collapsed on top of Eric. He didn't waste any time in flipping me onto my back, and pounding back into me. He reached his happy ending soon after, and I reached mine again with him.

"That was new." he said once we had both regained out senses. He was laying next to me, and we were both on our sides, propped up on an elbow and facing each other.

"I felt like trying something." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"Anything else you feel like trying?" he asked, and wagged his eyebrows at me.

"Let me think about it. Maybe. But not tonight. I'm tired." I said, and yawned. I laid all the way down, and Eric pulled the covers up over me. I stayed next to me, still propped up on his elbow.

"About what you were saying earlier Sookie. If we were going to stay here a while, I would be very happy to fix up a room for myself. But if you want your brother to move in here, I don't see the point."

"It was just a thought. That way, you wouldn't have to go in the usual spot, and we could spend the day together in bed. Well, I could spend it with you at least."

He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm fine with the space now. I don't plan on staying here long anyway. I want to correct this Victor issue as soon as possible."

"I do to. Do you think he would just show up here? I mean, he has to know that I'm being protected. I'm to valuable to Felipe to just let go. And he knows that Felipe promised me protection before. It just doesn't make sense for him to just show up."

"No it doesn't. I think he will be sending someone during the day. We need to make sure you have protection during the day. Do you still have the gun your brother lent you?"

He was talking about the one that I killed Debbie Pelt with. "No, but I can get it from him if I need to."

"Good. Do that." He checked the time. It was getting close to sunrise. We had about thirty minutes. "I need to make a few calls. I will be right back." he said, and got out of bed, got his phone from his jeans, and headed to the living room.

I started to doze off, so I sat up in bed. He came back in a few minutes later. "Herveaux will be here in about an hour. The shifter's coming over in the mean time until he gets here."

"How did you pull that off with Alcide?" I asked. I figured Sam would come without a fuss.

"You are still a friend of the pack. I asked him personally. He didn't fight me on it."

"That's nice of him." I said, and yawned.

"You should get some sleep." Eric said, and I lowered back down in bed.

"I will see you tonight Lover." he said, and kissed me on the neck. I was asleep soon after.


	51. Chapter 55

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

"You want something to drink?" I asked Alcide.

It was around two in the afternoon. I had woken up to find him in my living room. I figured Sam had let him in before he left. I didn't care enough to ask thought. As long as I wasn't alone. I was more scared of Victor coming than I was letting on.

"Sure. A Coke if you got one." he said from the couch. He was watching some sports game. We hadn't really spoken much since the last time he had stayed at my home to watch me while Eric slept. We hadn't really gotten along at all then either. Things hadn't been right between us since the night at his house when all hell broke lose at Eric's with his maker.

I brought him the drink, and had a seat in the chair. I was still waking up, and my coffee was still brewing.

"Thanks for coming." I said.

"Sure." he said, and went back to focusing on his game. I got bored of it pretty quick, and went back to the kitchen when the coffee was ready. I sat in there and enjoyed two cups while I read the paper, and went through my mail. After that, I went back to my room, and got ready for the day. I showered and got dressed, and then joined Alcide back in the living room.

"Hungry?" I asked, and he said he was, so I made us lunch. I was bored out of my mind, and it was only the first day.

I called Sam and asked him to come over, since I didn't want to inconvenience Alcide more than he already seemed to be by hanging out with me, and ask him to take me to Merlottes.

Sam showed up and we went outside to talk. I got him up to speed on what had happened in Vegas as far as the trial and Victor on the loose.

"Damnit Sook. I told you going was a bad idea. I told you right from the beginning." he said, and started pacing around the front lawn.

"Well, if I was there or not, it seems like Victor was going to be let go anyway. At least I was there to find out right away. And he couldn't get to me. Or have someone get to me before I had a chance to be warned."

Sam huffed and puffed around the yard for a bit, and I just stood there until he blew off his steam. "You done?" I asked once he stopped pacing.

"I'll stay with you during the day." he said.

"No, you've got a bar to run. I won't ask you to do that."

"I don't give a shit about the bar Sookie. Not if it means making sure you don't die."

"I'm sure Eric or Felipe will find someone or send someone capable of taking care of me. I'll be alright."

"I don't like this one bit Sookie. Not one bit." he said, and went back to pacing.

"Sam, I didn't call you over here to get in an argument with you. Look, I'll be fine. If I need something, you'll be the first one I call, alright? If I need someone to hang out with me during the day, I'll call you for that too. But only if I need to. You need to worry about you first."

He stopped pacing when his phone rang. It was the bar. Someone didn't show up for work. "I'm on my way back now." he said.

"I don't mind picking up some shifts if you want." I said. Desperate to get out of the house during the day.

"We'll see how things go." he said and then hugged me before he left.

As soon as the sun set, Eric was up, and Alcide was gone.

"I'm not trying to be difficult, but we need to find something else for me to do during the day, or someone else to watch me. This day was terrible." I said, and plopped down on the couch.

Eric took a seat next to me with the True Blood I had heated up for him when he woke. "What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing. Alcide sat on the couch most of the day and watched football. I had Sam come over this afternoon, and he was all in a tizzy over all this."

"Don't worry. Felipe is sending someone tonight. They should be here before I have to rest for the day. Now, I didn't like his choice, but he ensured me that he could be trusted. I don't think he would send someone he didn't trust."

"Who?" I asked, and Eric shook his head. "Oh no. No no no. How can Felipe trust him? I mean really Eric. You can't be serous."

"I'm very serous. Have you spoken with him at all since the ball?" he asked.

"Once. I called and left a message for him and thanked him for his help with Clark. But really?"

"This just gives us more motivation to find Victor as soon as possible, don't you think?"

"Yes." I said, and pouted. Eric seemed way to amused for this situation.

* * *

"Hello Quinn." I said when he arrived the next morning.

"Sookie." he said. I was glad he didn't call me Babe. I probably would have slammed the door in his face.

"Come in. Make yourself at home. There's food and drinks in the fridge. I made a couple things for you last night." I said, and yawned. "I'm going to bed, so you won't really have to worry about me to much I guess."

"It's barely six in the morning." he said as he checked his watch. Eric walked out of my bedroom just then, and glanced at Quinn. Quinn met his stare, and then quickly averted his eyes. I turned to see Eric standing in the hall, butt naked. Eric smiled at me and then continued into the guest bedroom. I have a feeling Eric came out of my bedroom naked on purpose. He had pants on when I came out to get the door. I rolled my eyes.

"I've been up all night. I'm still on vampire time from Vegas. Like I said, food and drinks in the fridge. There's a computer upstairs if you want to use it. Make yourself at home." And with that, I turned and headed to the guest room to sleep for the day. I wanted to be as close to Eric as possible without actually being under my house, although I had considered that.

* * *

A week went by pretty much the same. I kept myself on vampire time to spend the nights with Eric. I cooked meals for Quinn to eat during the day while he was here watching over me. Quinn was staying at Bill's house since Bill was still out of the country with Judith. Eric had called him and told him we would be using it. He didn't ask, which I told him was rude, but he figured Bill owed us anyways, and since it was in a way helping me, wouldn't mind, and he was right. Bill didn't care at all.

I talked to Richard twice that week. He still wanted to come out to stay with me, and do what he could, but I insisted that he didn't. I would feel terrible if something happened to him while he was trying to protect me.

And then there were the nights with Eric. I had spent every day sleeping in the guest room while he slept in the closet. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending every night with him, but I was starting to get a little bit of cabin fever. That's why I jumped at the suggestion that we go spend some time at Fangtasia on the seventh night of what felt like Sookie Lockdown.

Eric laughed as I ran to the bathroom to shower and change. We headed out as soon as I was ready. Pam had brought Eric his corvette earlier in the week, hoping that it would draw some attention to Victor, and make it clear where we were, since we spent most out time in bed, and not exactly trying to lure him to us. Either way, I counted it as time well spent.


	52. Chapter 56

**I know, some of these are SHORT, but oh well.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters.**

**Snoogans  
**

* * *

Of course Eric sped down the road. He thought it was funny when I asked him to slow down before we got pulled over. I didn't. He decided to try to get me to relax my reaching a hand over and rubbing my thigh. I figured I could persuade him to slow down if I asked really nice, and returned the thigh rubbing favor. I shouldn't have distracted him while he was driving.

A truck pulled out in front of us from a side road just as we were about to get to the highway. We would have avoided it except for I had my hand in Eric's lap, and was playing a little more than I should have been since he was driving. We both noticed it at the last second, and Eric swerved to avoid it, but it was to late. We hit the front of the truck, and from Eric trying to swerve out of it's way, we spun around a few times, then hit the ditch and the corvette flipped. I was glad just then for my seatbelt. I felt Eric take my hand when we started to flip over, and I was so happy when it finally stopped and we settled upside down, and I realized that I was still alive.

"Sookie, are you injured?" he asked. "I can smell your blood."

"I think I'm alright." I said. I didn't feel like I was to seriously hurt. I looked around. It was dark, but there was enough moonlight to tell that I had some cuts but they weren't to terrible. I wasn't concentrating then on keeping my guard up, and I felt that there were other vampires around, and they were getting closer very quickly. "Eric, we aren't alone. Vampires, six from what I can tell." I said and then they struck.

Eric started to get out of the car, but Victor was already there waiting for him and struck. He had a silver chain, and the threw it around Eric's neck. I heard Eric roar and then I saw him hit the ground. Victor had his foot on Eric's chest, and the chain was wrapped a few times around his neck.

"Get the girl." I heard Victor say, and then there was a vampire at my side of he car, and I was pulled out, and they weren't very nice about it, but I don't know why I expected them to be. The vampire who pulled me out stood me on my feet and held me up since I hadn't gained my senses completely back from the crash. "Get him up." I heard Victor say, and one of the other vampires came up behind Eric and pulled him to his feet. We both looked at each other. This was not how we planned for this to go down, that was for darn sure.

The vampire holding me took my by my hair and drug me around to the side of the car where Eric and Victor were. Eric was starting to fight back and lash out at Victor. Once I got close to Victor, he took hold of me, and the other vampires, except for the one holding on to the chain that was around Eric's neck, backed away.

"Calm down or I'll kill her now Northman. I wasn't going to make you watch, but if you don't stop fighting, I'll just do it now." Victor said. Eric looked at me, and kept his eyes on me as he ceased his battle to break free. Victor had me by my hair now, and turned my face to look at his. "How lovely to see you Sookie. Tell me, how have you been?"

"Better than you." I said, practically spitting in his face.

"Yes, I suppose that's true." he said, and laughed a little. "I decided not to drag this out any longer than it had been already. I know you've been waiting for me. I expected there to be a hunting party out for me from Felipe, but he's so incompetent I should have figured there wouldn't be." he said, and looked over to the vampire that was restraining Eric. "Secure him to that tree." Victor said, and we all followed as Eric was drug over to a massive tree just behind the tree line, and the chain was wrapped around it, and then locked to it. He was still standing, and I could see him trying to reach for the chain around his neck, but touching it to pull it away didn't do any good either since it just burned his hands, but God bless him for still trying. "Leave us." he said to the only vampire left of the five that had been with him when we crashed. It was now just the three of us.

"If you kill her, you had better kill me as well, because if you don't, I will find you Madden, and I will make sure you suffer for an eternity for this." Eric hissed. I could see he was in pain. His skin was burning under the chains.

"Oh, I'm planning on killing you both. I should have done it the night of the takeover. I wanted to. I should have." he said, and seemed to be thinking back on that night. "But, se la ve. Now I can make you watch. Although, I'm not sure who I want to kill first, and who I want to have watch." Victor said, and then looked back and forth between Eric and I as he decided. "I think I'll start with you Stackhouse." he said, and threw me to the ground.

I hit hard, and it knocked the wind out of me. I raised myself up on my hands and inhaled deep. I looked over at Eric, who was struggling harder than ever to get free, but it was no use. Victor came over to where I was on the ground and kicked me in the gut. I lost my breath again, and was struggling to breathe. I felt like I was going to vomit he kicked me so hard. I rolled over on my side, and as Victor hovered over me, I started to kick back. I wasn't going to just lie there and take it. He was probably going to kill me, but I wasn't going out without a fight. Victor just laughed at my futile attempt.

He picked me back up by my hair, and pulled me over to stand in front of Eric. Tears were running down my face. I mouthed "I love you." to him, and he closed his eyes. Victor slapped me hard then, and it would have knocked me to the ground, except his still had me by my hair.

"Open your eyes Northman. If you don't watch, I'll just draw this out and make it more painful for her." Victor said, and Eric's eyes shot open, and Victor slapped me again. He was hitting me hard. I could feel blood running down my cheek now, and I was sure my cheekbone was broken.

My beating went on for a good ten minutes. I was back on the ground, and Victor seemed to like kicking me in the ribs and gut. I was spitting up blood now, and it hurt to breathe. I could tell I had a few broken ribs. Victor seemed to be growing tired of me. I could tell he was getting ready to finish me. I had fought back the whole time. I never really did any damage, even though I tried. Eric fought the entire time to free himself from that tree, and now that he could tell it was getting close to the end, he was trying even harder. I heard the tree crack behind him, and I thought for a second he might completely pull it out of the ground trying to get to me.

Victor had been preoccupied with himself the entire time he beat me. He was rambling about all the things he should have done different. Accentuating particularly harsh things with swift hard kicks or punches or slaps. He picked me up by my hair again. I could barely stand on my own at this point.

"Has anyone ever told you you smell delicious?" he said to me, and then he bit my neck and started to drink. I screamed at the pain of it. I heard Eric scream too. Victor was going to drain me. I started to get light headed, and if Victor hadn't been supporting all of my weight before, he was now. My legs completely gave out, and I felt like I was losing consciousness. And then I felt Victor let go of my hair, and I felt him start to sink. I started to go down to, but someone caught me before I hit the ground, and then I heard skin ripping. I couldn't see straight, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open.


	53. Chapter 57

**This is the last one before the final chapter. The final chapter should be posted in an hour or so from now.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans!  
**

* * *

"Drink Sookie." I heard Pam say.

"I don't want to turn." I said.

"I will make sure you don't, but if you don't drink, you will die." she said, and shoved her wrist to my mouth. I took a little before her wound closed, and she opened it again for me. I drank a little more, and I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore. She sat me down on the ground, and I laid all the way down. I looked to my left and saw Victors body starting to ash away. There was a tree branch sticking out of his back. I looked the other way, and Pam was trying to figure out how to free Eric. She left for a moment, and then came back with a piece of metal, and I'm not sure where she got it from, but she used it to smash the lock, and Eric pulled the chains from his neck.

He came over to me and picked me up, and I winced at the pain in my chest when he did.

"She'll live." Pam told Eric.

"Thank you." he told Pam.

"She saved my life twice. I owed her." she said a little smug. I giggled, and then instantly regretted it.

"What about the other vampires." I asked, realizing Victor had brought five others with him.

"They are dead." Pam said. Eric smiled at her. "We need to get her to Ludwig, or a hospital."

"Call Ludwig, have her meet us at the bar." Eric said to her. "Sookie…" he said to me, and I put my face to his chest as he started walking back towards the road.

I passed out from the pain before we got to the bar, but I woke up when Ludwig was bandaging up my ribcage. I let out a little scream from the pain, and then felt a bit better once it was secure around me.

"Give her some of your blood, it'll help. I'll leave my bill." Dr. Ludwig said, and then she left. I was in Eric's office, on the couch. I reached up to touch my face, but Eric took my hand to stop me.

"Don't, there's stitches." he said, and I lowered my hand back down.

"Are you alright?" I said, and could see the burn marks around his neck healing.

"I will be fine. And so will you in a week or so." he said, and then bit his wrist, and I drank a little more.

"Your car's wrecked." I said.

Eric gave me a little of a puzzled look, and then smiled. "It's replaceable."

"You're going to be married soon. You should replace it with something sensible; like a mini-van." I said, and Eric laughed.

Pam came into the office then, and I looked up and smiled at her. "Thanks Pam." I said.

She winked at me, and then looked at Eric. "My car is outside. Here are the keys." she said to him, and tossed them to him, then left. Eric lifted me off the couch, and then we headed out to the car. Pam locked up the bar, and then followed us to her car.

"I'll be at Sookies." he said to Pam, and sat me in the car, and buckled me in, and shut the door.

They stood outside and talked for a moment, and then Pam came around to my door and opened it up. She kissed me on the cheek. "Good night Sookie. Feel well soon." she said, and I thanked her again before she shut the door and Eric got in the car.

"Have you told Felipe yet?" I asked.

"I'm going to call him once I get you into bed." Eric said as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to my place. "You were very brave tonight Sookie. I'm proud of you." he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Thanks. Are you sure you're alright?" I asked.

Eric looked over at me and smiled. "I'm fine. Pam gave me some of her blood. It's helping."

We were silent for a while. Eric was driving more cautious that I had ever seen him drive before. "As soon as I'm better, I want to bond, and I want to pledge." I said.

"Are you sure?" he asked. I shook my head yes.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes." he said, and smiled at me.

Once we were back at my house, Eric carried me inside, and then laid in bed next to me, and started making calls. He called Felipe first to tell him about what happened, and then he called Quinn to tell him his services were no longer needed. After he was done, I begged him to let me take a bath or a shower or something, because I felt disgusting. He finally gave in, and helped me into the bathroom, and out of my clothes and the bandage Ludwig had wrapped around me ribcage, and into the shower.

Eric gently washed me, and let me hang on to him to support myself, although he really was doing most of the supporting. While he was helping me rinse off I started to cry, and he held me for a while under the hot water while I let the events of the evening go through my tears.

* * *

"How did Pam know where to find us?" I asked once we were settled back in my bed. Eric had wrapped the bandage back around my ribs and then into a nightshirt.

"I called for her." he said.

It took me a moment to realize that he didn't mean he called her with his cell. "Why didn't you do that before?" I asked.

"Before?"

"When Victor took you from the cabin. Why didn't you do that before? Or did you?"

"I didn't. Victor was keeping me alive at least until he got you. I figured you weren't going to run like I asked you to, so I decided that having her there to watch you was better than having her risk herself in trying to get to me."

"But she could have set you free."

"You saw the crypt Sookie. She would have never have been able to sneak in there undetected. Even if she brought others with her, it would have been difficult. I didn't want to call her to her death. She's my child."

"Why did you call her tonight then?"

"She wasn't supposed to come alone. She knew we were coming to the bar. When I called for her, I expected her to bring assistance. The odds were in her favor tonight however. We were out in the open, Victor was preoccupied, and I could tell she could easily take the vampires he brought with him. Thankfully for us and for Pam, Victor was very preoccupied. She was able to take him by surprise. But Pam is a good fighter, I didn't doubt tonight that she would be victorious."

"So if we're married, and Pam's your child, does that make me her step mom?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I was tired of talking about tonight. I had brought it up, but I decided it was enough.

Eric laughed hard. I don't think I had ever seen him laugh that hard before. "I'll let you tell her that. She'll love it." he said, and gently hugged me to him, and kissed my forehead.

"Eric?"

"Yes my love?"

"Tell me about bonding." I asked.

"You should sleep. I can tell you tomorrow night." he said.

"I'm not tired. Tell me, please?"

He sat up in bed a little, and I rested my head on his stomach. "Well, the name describes it best. We would be bonded. Together. Like being one, but separate. I would feel what you are feeling, and vice versa. But your feelings would still be your own and my feelings would still be my own."

"Would it affect how I feel? Like influence my feelings?"

"Not exactly. If I could tell that you were sad for example, I could, how can I put this, 'send you' I think would describe it best, I could send to you love or comfort to try to help you fell better. You would still have your own feeling of sadness, but you would feel my comfort for you."

"Like if I needed a hug, and you hugged me, and it made me feel better. But you would do that through the bond?"

Eric smiled. "Yes, like that."

"You did that before didn't you." I said.

"A few times, yes. When you saw me at the bar once, you were upset, and I tried to make you feel better. When you had been taken by the those fucking fairies, I tried to help you be strong and brave."

"I didn't realize that was how it worked. I thought it was fake, what I was feeling. Like I was just feeling what you wanted me to feel. Like the bond was forcing me to feel connected to you in a way. But maybe that was me being a little stubborn about it too."

"Yes, but if you don't understand how it works, or what you are feeling coming through, it would also be confusing. It will take a little getting used to, to be able to sort your feelings out clearly from mine. But you can practice this in the beginning so that when our bond becomes stronger, you will be more adept at using the bond."

"Using it how?"

"It's not just me who can project my feelings or an emotion on to you, like I said before. It works both ways."

"Oh, so like, if I want to jump you, I could tell you without having to say it out loud?"

Eric laughed. "Yes. Exactly, I would feel that you wanted to 'jump me', but you could also push that through the bond, so that I felt it stronger."

"Nice." I said, and made a mental note to try that when it was an inopportune moment for him.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"I don't think so. Tell me about pledging now."

"That is more of a ritual. Similar to a marriage among humans. It would simply mean that we are married. You would belong to me, and I would belong to you, like a husband and wife belong to each other. But since this is a vampire custom, it's a bit stricter than a marriage is now. No one would be able to touch you, and no one would be able to touch me. If they did, harming one of us, or making an unwelcome advance, they could be punished by us."

"Got it."

"No further questions?"

"Not that I can think of now."

"Good. Then it's time for you to sleep. I will see you tomorrow night." he said, and lowered back down in bed next to me, kissed me on my forehead, and sleep found me shortly after.


	54. Chapter 58

**Well, here it is, the final chapter...**

**I hope you all enjoyed reading. There is an A/N down at the bottom.**

**Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot.**

**Snoogans.  
**

* * *

A week and a half later, I was preparing myself for Eric's arrival. I had insisted that he spend the night at his home, because I didn't want him to see the bride before the wedding day. He had laughed when I told him that, but I insisted on keeping some human tradition in this.

I was getting dressed in the red dress that I had worn at the summit. Pam had asked if she could help me pick out a white gown, but I told her that I wouldn't feel right wearing it. And besides, Eric told me that he loved me in this dress, and I loved me in it too. Plus, the red seemed a more appropriate color. I had put my hair up in a lose bun, and did a little shadow around my eyes, and some mascara, but that was basically it. I also decided since we were doing this at my house, indoors, and alone, I didn't need shoes, or panties.

I went back out to the living room, and made sure everything was in place. I had ordered dozens of roses, and Pam had helped me arrange them all throughout my living room. I laid a black blanket that she had picked up for me along with some deep red and black pillows out in front of the fireplace. Pam helped me light the candles that I had placed around the living room.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"Beautiful as usual. He's going to love it." she said.

I checked the clock. "He's going to be here soon. You should probably leave. I think I've got the rest of this." I said, and scanned the room. I really only needed to light the fire.

Pam went to the kitchen and got her bag she had brought with her. She came back to me in the living room, and stopped in front of me. She reached in the bag, and pulled out a package and handed it to me. "This is from Eric." she said, and kissed me on the cheek before she let herself out.

The package was small, wrapped in brown paper, and tied with a string. I knew exactly what it was. I held it to me as I lit the fire, and then waited for Eric.

I didn't have to wait long.

* * *

He pulled up in his rental car. He still hadn't decided on what he was going to replace his corvette with. He was wearing black slacks and a red button up shirt, and he had his hair tied back in a band. He came to the door, and I opened it just as he went to knock.

"Hi." I said. I was nervous all of the sudden, but in a good way.

"Hello my love." he said, and leaned down to kiss me. I let him in, and led him over to the fire place. We knelt down on to the blanket and I smiled nervously at him then lowered my face away from him.

He put a finger under my chin and raised it so that I was looking him in the eyes. "Why are you nervous Sookie?" he said with a smile.

"I don't know, I just am. I want this to go just right." I said.

"It will. Don't worry." he said, and kissed me. It helped to calm me down.

"Ready?" I asked.

"I've been ready." he said, and winked at me. I smiled back, and rolled my eyes.

I still had the package that Pam had given me clutched to my chest. I released my iron grip on it, and held it out in front of me, and started to untie it. When the sting was undone, the brown paper fell away to reveal a small pillow, and the ceremonial knife sitting on top of it. I held the pillow with my left hand, and picked the knife up with my right. I remembered what Eric had done when I had handed it to him in his office, and I brought it to my lips and kissed it, before I placed it back on the pillow, and handed it to him. He took the pillow from me, and did the same that I had done, picking up the knife, kissing it, and placing it back on the pillow, and then he set it beside us.

Then he leaned back down, and kissed me ever so gently on the lips. It was the sweetest kiss he'd ever given me.

"I have something for you." I said, and reached behind me, under the edge of the blanket. I handed him the small box, and he opened it. "I know this isn't like a human marriage, but I figured that maybe you would wear it anyways?" I asked him nervously.

It was a platinum wedding band. I used the money Felipe had paid me for going to the Summit to pay for it. Pam helped me by getting me his ring size and I had 'I Am Yours, You Are Mine' inscribed on the inside of the band.

Eric smiled and took it out of the box and inspected it. He saw the inscription on the inside and smiled at me, and put it on his left ring finger. "Thank you." he said, as his smile grew bigger.

I was relieved, although I'm not sure why I didn't think he would wear it. I still blushed though. "You're welcome."

"I have something for you as well." he said, and reached in his pocket, and pulled out a small light blue box, held it in front of me, and opened the lid.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I pulled the small ring out of the box. It was platinum, just like the one I had given him. It was simple, just a wedding band. There was an inscription on the inside of it as well. 'My Beloved is Mine'. It was perfect. He knew I didn't want anything flashy, it wasn't my style. I smiled at how similar our inscriptions were.

"I love it. Thank you." I said.

"You're welcome."

"I was almost expecting something old. Something you either had from when you were human, or something you took from some king or queen centuries ago."

Eric gave a small laugh from deep in his chest. "I'm saving those things for anniversaries." he said, and I giggled a little.

Eric looked back down at his ring, and then to mine. They looked almost identical, and had similar sentiments in them. "We think alike." he said.

"Yes, we do." I said, and he took the ring, and slipped it onto my finger.

Eric picked back up the knife, and held it out to me. I took it, and he stood up, and started to undress.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Undressing. This will probably be more comfortable if we are naked." he said, and gave me that signature raised eyebrow and smug little grin. Then I thought about the first time we had bonded. He was right, we should be naked.

Once he was finished undressing, he knelt back down in front of me. I stood and turned my back to him so that he could help me with the zipper on the dress, and he slowly pulled it down, then ran his hands over my hips. I turned back to him and put my hands at the clasp that held the halter together behind my neck. I unclasped it and slowly slid it down my body, and then once it was at my waist, I let go, and it fell the rest of the way to the floor. I wasn't wearing a bra or panties, and Eric flashed a little fang.

I knelt back down in front of him, and he pulled me to him so that our bodies were touching. I still had the knife in my hand, and he motioned for me to cut. I leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips, and then focused on his chest. I cut just below his collar bone, and quickly brought up my mouth to drink him in. He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me close to him. I felt his hardness pressed against my thigh. I drank until the wound closed. Eric was steadily rocking against me. I licked my lips, and Eric leaned down to kiss me.

"Perfect." he said, and this time, I didn't question on whether he really meant that or not. I knew he did.

He put his hands under my bottom, and lifted me so that I could wrap my legs around him, and then he lowered us to the ground, so that I was on my back, and he was hovering over me. I set the knife down next to me and wrapped my arms around his neck and he came in for a kiss. It was slow and leisurely, but full of passion. I could feel it surging through us, and we weren't even bonded yet.

Eric slid his hand down my side, and then between my legs to check for my readiness. I was very ready for him, and he could tell. He positioned himself at my entrance, and I raised my hips to meet his as he slowly slid in me as far as he could go. I gasped when our hips met, and gripped his back.

"Lover." he said, as he broke our kiss, and I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to him. Eric brushed my cheek with his lips, and then made a trail of kissed from there, down my neck, to my collar, and then back to my neck. He found his spot, and kissed and nipped the skin before he bit. He took a long draw, and then started to move in and out of me again. I felt a buzz start to build in my brain as he drew my blood. It was something I hadn't felt in almost four years. I could feel Eric ever so slightly buzzing in my head. I knew that from now going forward, the more we shared our blood, the stronger that would get, and i was happy for that.

I was rocking my hips in time with his thrusts. He was still keeping it at a slow pace, but I was steadily building to my own release. He took a few more sips from me and then licked the wound that he had made until it closed, and then he went back to me, and our lips met once more.

We were rocking together, both building towards our own releases. Our foreheads met, and we stared each other in the eyes as we rocked. I was moaning each time he thrust into me. Eric was starting to growl along to my moans.

I screamed his name as I started to see stars. Eric could feel me falling over the edge, and started to make his thrusts quicker and harder. I arched my back, and gripped the blanket in my fists. Eric let out a growl, and said my name as he reached his own ending with me. I must have stopped breathing, and passed out for a moment, because the next thing I remembered was Eric whispering in my ear, telling me to breathe.

Eric lifted himself off me, and laid beside me. I turned and cuddled myself up to him. My body was still experiencing aftershocks, and I was shaking.

"That was perfect, my wife." he said, and kissed my forehead.

"Yes it was, my husband." I said, and if it was even possible, scooted even closer to him.

We laid like that for a while. Slowly caressing each other and planting small kisses on each others lips and necks and foreheads. I was starting to doze there in his arms when he spoke.

"I have something else for you." he said, and got up off the floor. I frowned at the loss of him in my arms. He found his pants, and pulled them on.

"Where are you going?" I asked. I didn't want him to leave.

"I left it in my car. I will be just a moment." he said, and then he was out the door. I sat up and noticed that some of the candles were starting to drip wax on the floor, so I got up and started to blow them out. Eric came back in, and helped me finish, then took my hand, and led me to our bedroom. He picked me up and laid me out on the bed, and then discarded his pants, and got in next to me.

"Here." he said, and handed me a small bundle. It was brown paper just like the knife had been wrapped in. I opened it up to reveal a book.

"What's this?" I asked, flipping it over in my hands. The cover of it was dark leather, and it was closed using a leather strap that wrapped around it.

"It's a journal." he said.

"For me to write in?" I asked.

"No. It's my journal."

"Your journal? Why are you giving it to me? And I didn't know you kept a journal." I said, and my mind was just boggled. I couldn't picture Eric writing in a journal. I almost giggled a little, but he was so serious right now, I held it in.

"This is my first one. I started it three years ago." he said.

I thought about that for a second. "Oh." was all I could think of to say. I undid the tie on it, and opened it up to the first page, but hadn't started to read yet. I looked back to Eric.

"I started it a week after the night we ended our relationship in your kitchen." he said, as I started to read the first few lines, and tears welled up in my eyes. "I don't know what drove me to start it, but it became a series of letters to you. There was one time, after the some of the surrounding states started to invade, that I thought I truly would meet the final death in battle, which you will read about, but I intended for Pam to give it to you should that happen."

"Oh." was still all I could think to say. There were tears slowly making their way down my cheeks now.

"After the fighting subsided, I still planed to give it to you at some point. Now seemed like the perfect time."

"Thank you." I said. It was the only other think I could think of to say besides 'Oh.'.

"There may be some parts in there that are difficult to read, but understand, I never stopped loving you. Even when it appeared that we would not be reuniting, I still loved you."

I leaned over and kissed him. The gentle kiss that I had started, was quickly turning into a hurried one. I set the journal down beside us, and practically tackled Eric.

"I never stopped loving you either. Never." I said as I broke our kiss for a moment.

"You are mine, I am yours." he said to me.

"My Beloved is Mine." I said in return.

* * *

**Well, that's it for now. **

**I have a couple of side story ideas, but the most recent one that I had is the journal. I think I will put off "Eric's Two Weeks" (tenative title) and the Sam and Sookie side story, and to the journal first.**

**Thanks everyone for reading. This was my first fan fiction. I normally write my own fiction, but one day got a wild hair and started this. I will be the first to admit that I'm not the best fact checker, and I know that here have been some errors, but nothing to major I hope. You still get the general idea at least. :D**

**Thanks for the love too. And a shout out to my favorite reading group, you know who you are. ;) Your comments make me smile on a daily basis, and kept me writing this story. I hope you were pleased with the ending.**

**Anywho, I think I will be starting on the journal within the next couple of days, and will start posting as soon as I get a good chunk of it going so that I don't feel pressure to write, because that takes all the enjoyment out of it.**

**Signing off for now!**

**Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!  
**


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